Moving On
by SLopez
Summary: There's a new guy at McKinley. He meets Rachel. Can she forget Finn? "But boy, were they wrong! He wasn't just handsome. He was gorgeous!" Finchel drama and Rachel/OC interaction, mainly. Kind of full summary inside! Hope you enjoy! COMPLETE!
1. Don't Wanna Think About You

_Hello everyone!_

_Here I am with my new story! This was supposed to be posted here yesterday, but I must have gotten the flu and I also had fever. No, I'm not hallucinating... Dean Winchester is here by my side to prove it... (yeah, I made a Supernatural marathon this weekend =D)  
_

_Anyway... I never tried something like this before, with an OC, but I hope you enjoy! Also, every chapter is a title of a song and I hope you can understand why the song I chose fit into the story. Sometimes I like a song and there's only this one sentence that makes all sense to be in the story, at least to me. I think the story will be about five or six chapters long.  
_

_**Summary:** There's a new guy at McKinley. He meets Rachel. Can he help her with forgetting Finn? __"His eyes were deep blue, almost indigo. His hair was dark brown, not as dark as hers and darker than Finn's. It was short and the cut was similar to Sam's, without that horrible Bieber style. He was tall, but not as much as Finn. Maybe 5'11"-ish. He was also athletic. She was pretty sure that he must be in the football team by then. And he was smiling at her, showing his perfect teeth and his perfect pink lips, quite similar to Finn's."_

_Finchel drama (hope so) and Rachel/OC interaction, mainly. There might be another characters from the show mentioned._

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own glee nor the song featured in this chapter. They belong to Ryan Murphy and Simple Plan, respectively._

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**Moving On**

**Chapter 1: Don't Wanna Think About You**

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_'Cause I'm tryin to get through today  
And there's one thing I know  
I don't wanna think about you  
Or think about me  
Don't wanna figure this out  
I don't wanna think about you  
Or think about nothing  
Don't wanna talk this one out_

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_

Rachel woke up at 6 AM sharp, out of habit. She used to start her routine at that hour, get to her elliptical trainer, get a shower, eat her breakfast, brush her teeth and hair for the hundredth time and, finally head to school. However, her elliptical trainer could take the day off. She felt sick. Not the same way when we get the flu or other disease. Just sick. And there was no way humanly possible she was going to get out of bed. She only had classes at 8, so she could stay one more hour. Maybe she could just go back to sleep.

And she tried. Whenever she felt she was drifting off, it was like someone was pulling off the slumber state. Every single time. So she stopped trying. Instead, she tried to relax and think about good things. All that came to her mind was Finn, Finn, and… _Finn_.

Once he wasn't get out of her mind that easily, she tried to make the best out of it and flashes of her happy memories of them together crossed in front of her eyes.

Every song they sang, especially _Don't Stop Believing_ and _Faithfully_.

Their first kiss in the auditorium.

Carole and Burt's wedding.

Their first kiss as a couple, after Regionals.

Him singing _Jessie's Girl_ in front of the whole club.

Her professing her love for him, before _The Only Exception_.

Their kiss after the bowling date.

Their splendid summer.

Their kiss before Regionals, when he was trying to cheer her up (she, secretly, kissed him, only to shut him up).

Their epic "Break a leg" "I love you" moment.

Their promises to never break up with each other.

Him breaking up with her in the hallway.

Him sleeping with Santana.

Him, officially, breaking up with her at the Christmas tree lot.

Him saying Santana was "super hot".

Her telling him about the kiss with Noah.

Everyone in the club knowing he had slept with Santana but her.

Wait… wasn't she focusing on the happy memories only? Where did these come from? Why was her face wet? Oh… she was crying, without realizing it… again. It had been happening a lot lately.

Tired of the torture, she glanced at her alarm clock. 7:30. She wasn't going to be ready in time even if hell froze right then. Sure, she had given the trainer the day off, but she still had the other things to do.

It's just the first day at school after the break. No big deal in skipping a class, right?

Subconsciously, she knew she got lazy that morning on purpose. After all, it was the first day of school and she wasn't ready for it. She wasn't ready to _see him_. Besides, with all her crazy controlling issues, she made sure they had every single class together ("so I can help you with your grades", she said fooling him and herself in the process).

She took her time with eating her cereals and even more time than usual with her hair. Not with brushing her teeth, though. It's not ecological to waste water while brushing the teeth and saving the planet is on her priority list.

Forty-five minutes later she was ready to school. She took another ten minutes to get there and then headed to her locker, placing her spare clothes and sheet music in there. They had glee rehearsal today and she was pretty certain that she would need the spare clothes before lunch.

She was wrong. She didn't need the spare clothes before lunch.

As for trying to avoid Finn, it wasn't that easy. First, they had the same classes. And, besides that, _he approached her_ and gave her an ice cold "Hi". She greeted him back, just because she is so polite (and because she still loves him more than anything), but after that no more words.

Apparently he was trying to avoid her too, but somehow, whenever they were doing it, the universe guided them to the same places. So no, it hadn't been a wonderful morning. She was already counting on that, but it still felt… bad. _Like what you did to him_, said her inner voice, always unpleasant and ruining what was left of her good mood.

Grabbing her lunch, she sat near the Cheerios table and tried to focus on what they were saying (she refused to think of it as eavesdropping). At some point, they caught her attention. There was a new student at McKinley and he was "really handsome". Great! Another handsome guy for those… _Cheerios _(in her mind, she spit the word) take and make their loyal puppy. Like Noah and Finn and the entire football team. Except Mike. He was a really caring boyfriend, according to Tina. Since Rachel never saw him hanging out with the Cheerios, she assumed that he was the only decent guy among the Neanderthals.

Focusing again in the talk taking place behind her, she heard Santana's voice.

"Well, if he got to the football team, he's mine! And I'll bring you all bitches down, if you try and steal him from me."

Rachel snorted and said, under her breath "Go figure…"

Well, she thought it was under her breath, but apparently the Latina was a good listener because she retorted something in Rachel's direction.

"What Midget? Have something to say? Or were you just listening our conversation, like the…"

"Cut it, Santana." She cut her off "I'm really tired of you messing with me without a reason."

The girl put her hands on her hips and shot Rachel a defiant look.

"I wasn't done offending you!" she replied.

"No. I wasn't done! You see, you already ruined my life. You don't need to still be all over me. I'm getting tired of this situation." She paused, grabbing her things "And I'm getting tired of you."

The Cheerio folded her arms and glared at her, but Rachel saw that she had affected her somehow. Maybe the day wasn't going to be so bad, after all.

After lunch, the classes passed by agonizingly slowly, but none out of the ordinary happened. By that, she meant there were no slushy facials, no teasing from the Cheerios and no awkward moments with Finn.

At least, until Biology class. She was minding her own business, gladly that he didn't talk to her (manly because it pained her to be so close to him and yet so far away), when the teacher had to run out of the classroom.

"So, I heard you kicked Santana's ass at lunch." She turned to Finn, surprised and momentarily speechless.

"I did no such thing! You know I don't appreciate violence as a resource to solve problems."

He chuckled. She stared even more surprised at him.

"I didn't mean it that way, Rach." Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, upon hearing her nickname coming out of his lips "I meant with words. The other Cheerios said that she spent the entire afternoon trying to come up with a smart answer. Or a smart insult, I'm not sure."

"Oh… okay." Honestly, he caught her off guard, and that was one of those very rare times where Rachel Berry doesn't know what to say.

He didn't know either, because he didn't push the conversation further and didn't bring another one. She didn't mind. All she wanted was to keep him as far away from her heart as possible. Though she still loved him and hadn't given up on their relationship, she needed space to heal. He asked her the same thing at the Christmas tree lot. For different reasons, but that's not the point. Because, though the reason was different, it was still part of the healing process for him. If he can forgive her, it means he's healing, right?

After a few minutes of awkward silence between them, the teacher came back only to notify them that they were dismissed from the rest of the class. Rachel practically jumped off her chair and almost ran out of the classroom.

She wandered in McKinley's hallways trying to figure out if it was a good or a bad idea to skip glee. She decided it was a bad idea. Her lead role in the club was already hanging by a thread, she didn't need more reasons for her solos to be taken away from her.

The bell had already ringed and she rushed to the choir room. Going around a corner, someone bumped into her, making her lose her sheet music and leaving a stain in the front of her sweater. They leaned down to catch the sheet music.

"Sorry." She said at the same time as a male voice. Slowly, she raised her head and lifted her eyes to see who the boy was. She didn't recognize the voice.

She was surprised to see that it was the new boy that the Cheerios had been talking about. But boy, were they wrong! He wasn't just handsome. He was _gorgeous_! His eyes were deep blue, almost indigo. His hair was dark brown, not as dark as hers and darker than Finn's. It was short and the cut was similar to Sam's, without that horrible Bieber style. He was tall, but not as much as Finn. Maybe 5'11"-ish. He was also athletic. She was pretty sure that he must be in the football team by then. And he was smiling at her, showing his perfect teeth and his perfect pink lips, quite similar to Finn's (she can't help it… every time she meets someone, she always compares them to Finn… she really can't help it).

Rachel almost melted right there and smiled back, her eyes wide. Then she remembered about people talking behind her back, referring her crazy eyes and she gain composure.

Completely forgotten that her sweater had been slushied, she smoothed it, getting her hands wet and full of slushy as well. Without noticing, she let out a frustrated groan.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" He said, suddenly changing his expression and looking really concerned "I ruined your sweater. I'm so sorry."

"No, there's no problem at all. I actually thought that was for me." She said, pointing to the almost empty cup.

He raised his brows, surprised.

"Really? Is it some kind of tradition here that the new guy has to buy a slushy to the prettiest girl he runs into?" He asked, flirtatious.

Rachel giggled. He was clearly flirting with her and that made her heart triple jump inside her chest. She hadn't felt this way since Finn (see… again with the comparisons).

"I'm very flattered by your compliment, but no. There's no such a tradition like that at McKinley. I wish!" She added, rolling her eyes "When I said I thought it was for me, I meant I thought it was for me as in to be thrown at me."

He frowned, confused.

"And why would I do that?"

"Peer pressure. You'll see a lot of that around here. Also, slushing someone is like being on the top of the chain food and it's actually the favorite way of bullying at McKinley. I've been slushied more than I can count."

"Why would they bully you?"

"Well, it appears to be that I'm the social pariah here. I'm the biggest loser. I'm the gleek. I'm target number one. Only because I dare myself to dream and actually fight to make my dreams come true." She paused, glancing at the piercing blue eyes that looked amused at her "I'm sorry. I tend to ramble a lot."

He chuckled, lightly.

"Don't worry about that. And I don't think you're that big of a loser. You're just underestimating yourself."

"No! I'm being honest. You can ask around, just to make sure." Stated Rachel "And I'm sorry, once again, that I bothered you with my rant."

His lips twitched upwards.

"You didn't bother me. Actually, it's really nice talking to someone who doesn't look at you like you're about to grow another head at any moment. Actually, there was this blonde cheerleader that asked me exactly that. Totally weird!" She giggled again, thinking the cheerleader was probably Brittany "That's being the new guy. By the way, I'm Alex… Alex Greene."

"Nice to meet you, Alex Alex Greene." She replied, in a mocking tone "My name is Rachel Berry."

They smiled at each other.

"Well, Miss Berry, I'm really sorry I ruined your cute bunny sweater. It was really sweet before I went all murderous and threw some red syrup into it."

Rachel chuckled. This boy was really funny. Besides, he liked her sweater! She was starting to see a great friendship with him in the future.

_Hold your horses, Rachel_, she thought, _you barely know the boy and you already jumped into something close to this before and look where it got you!_

"Don't worry. I always bring spare clothes with me. Besides, my little puppy dogs sweater is dying to get out of my locker." The boy chuckled again. Did he actually find her amusing? Funny, maybe? "Well Alex Alex Greene, I guess I'll see you around!"

"I certainly hope so!" He assured her, with a sweet grin on his cute face.

After that, they turn their backs to one another and went their ways. Before she realized it, she bumped into somebody else.

"Seriously, this must be my lucky day, running into people every two seconds." She mumbled, frustrated. Then, she looked up "Oh… Finn. I'm sorry, I wasn't looking…"

"Who was that?" He cut her off. Well, that was rude. Really rude, considering the polite conversation she had moments ago.

"That is Alex Greene. The new student. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to change." She said, moving around him. Finn stopped her.

"Why were you talking to him?"

She snorted and frowned.

"I don't see how this is your business, but since you asked, I actually bumped into him and then we engaged in a very funny and very polite conversation."

"And then the dude threw a slushy at you?" Finn asked, gesturing to her sweater.

"No. This happened when we ran into each other. And, please let me enjoy the fact that the new student is actually talking to me without ulterior motives and before he realizes I'm his new slushy target." She paused, staring right into his eyes "Now, please, let me go change or we will be late for glee."

He stepped aside and let her go.

"Oh, yeah, Mr. Schue was the one telling me to search for you."

"Now you've found me. Five minutes and I'll be at the choir room."

She headed to the bathroom with a smile on her lips. She thought the day was going to be awful. Instead, it had been a rather positive day. She stood up in front of the Cheerios and put Santana in her place. The new student was flirting with her (she's quite positive of that). And, most of all, she thinks she stood up for herself in front of Finn. Nothing could bring her down, that day.

She was about to enter the bathroom, when Azimio and his buddy Karofsky threw two slushies at her. Now, she was not only with red stains, but also blue ones. Like Alex's eyes.

Yeah… they couldn't bring her down, either.

* * *

_This time I won't let you bring me down  
Won't let you shut me out  
This time I know  
I don't wanna think about you_

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_So, what do you guys think?_

_Let me know! I'm just gonna lay down a bit with Dean Winchester until my headache stops..._

_SLopez_


	2. Picking Up The Pieces

_Hello there!_

_First of all, I'm sorry for the delay, but I had exams for college and it was hard to be fully concentrated on the story, while having other things in my head._

_Anyway, here's the second chapter of Moving On. Hope you enjoy! :)_

_Thanks to **sandra-wfg**, who helped me with the song! I didn't have any idea which one I would put in the story until she suggested Picking Up the Pieces._

_**Disclaimer:** Don't own Glee, nor its characters. And the song is Gabrielle's._

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**Moving On**

**Chapter 2: Picking Up The Pieces**

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_And it seems like a dream, __  
__Now you're gone and it's just me, __  
__I'm on my own; I'm all alone, __  
__And the pain, that I feel, __  
__Given time I know will heal, __  
__But still you're gone and I'm on my own... _

_Picking up the pieces of my life, __  
__Picking up the pieces, it's gonna take some time, __  
__Picking up the pieces of my broken heart, __  
__Picking up the pieces... _

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She really didn't want to think about Finn. She already thought about him enough. Before the break up, he was all what she could think about. Obviously, she already couldn't keep him off of her mind, after all he was her boyfriend. Then he had to go and push her away. And she had to go and make mistakes. _Big_ mistakes. Then, he broke up with her and it was the end. Rachel honestly thought that after the winter break she could have some peace of mind or that her hours of sleep would regularize. Instead, the insomnia didn't leave her and she still woke up in the middle of the night with tears in her eyes. At school, it wasn't any better. Every time she looked at Finn she felt more and more guilty. Especially when she saw him glancing at Santana or catching Quinn's eye. And she knew that he was just doing that because of her and what she did to him.

The only good thing in her life, that first week of school, was Alex. Not even glee club was that great anymore (what's the point in being committed or working hard on something if nobody recognizes it?). She only had talked to him that first day and never saw him again. She searched, though. He was like a puff of fresh air in her life and she was desperately in need of that. There wasn't a logical way for her to explain anyone how much she already missed Alex. Not in a romantic way (at least, for now), but… the boy had something, a _je ne sais quoi_ that she wasn't able to forget. Of course, he still couldn't compete with Finn, but Alex was filling some space. Losing Finn as her boyfriend, she lost him as a friend, either. She was expecting Alex to fill that space, to say the least.

She was afraid, though. After all, she had been impulsive when it came to Finn and impulsiveness was in her nature. But her impulsiveness never led her to good things (remember Sunshine Corazon? _Yeah… impulsive thought…_ remember the kiss with Puck? _Is it really necessary to answer?_). However scared she might be for thinking she was going to be impulsive again, she also felt that it was different this time. Because she didn't have romantic feelings for the boy. With Finn, it was different. He was her _voice soul mate_. She fell in love with him when they first sang together. But she really had to stop thinking about Finn. It doesn't bring him back, no matter how hard she tries.

She was at her locker, picking her English Literature book, with those deeps thoughts in her head, when a male voice made her drop the book.

"Hey Rachel!" It was Alex's voice. He leaned down to pick her book "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

"Hello Alex." She greeted, always polite "There's no problem, at all. So, what brings you here?"

He leaned into the nearest locker and folded his arms, his biceps showing off, and he stared at her.

"I've been looking for you the whole week, but it appears to be that Miss Berry is unachievable." He said with a hint of mock "I wanted to tell you that I did what you said."

"What?" She asked, confused. She started to move and he followed her.

"You told me to ask around about you and I did." He paused and she gave him the '_And…?_' look "I think these people are crazy as hell and totally misguided."

"What did they say?" Rachel asked, cautiously, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.

"Pretty much what you said. That you're the biggest loser, the gleek, controlling, bossy, Barbra Streisand wannabe, freak, midget… I heard it all!"

Rachel felt blush crept all over her cheeks.

"Well, that's the entire truth about me…"

"I don't think it is." He cut her off, with a smile. Then, he blocked her passage and they stopped in the middle of the hallway "The girl I see in front of me is nothing like that."

"You don't even know me." She mumbled, darting her eyes to the floor.

"I know enough to say that you're no loser or freak." He put a hand in her arm, making her search for his eyes. She smiled, shyly.

"Well, I can tell you that I aspire to be just as great as Barbra Streisand, one day. And I can be a little controlling or bossy." She chuckled "There's one thing I'm curious about, though. They said all those things about me and yet you're still talking to me. Aren't you afraid that they may turn your high school life unpleasant?"

He laughed and pulled her slightly, so they could continue to move.

"I don't care what the others say about me!" Alex said it with so much confidence that she looked at him in awe "Do you?"

"Well, no… not exactly…" she stuttered "I mean, there are opinions that you have to take in consideration."

"Sure! My parents' and my friends' opinions, yes! Other than that, I don't give a damn, Rachel."

That only made him more likeable at her eyes. She actually felt her heart flutter. Could that be possible? Was she falling in love? She barely knew the boy. No, she wasn't falling in love. Her heart was still shattered and the pieces belonged to Finn. Maybe she was a little infatuated, but that's all. There's still no love in the equation. No, she's definitely not falling in love. The truth is when she's with him, she doesn't think of Finn (that much) and that's good. Thinking too much of Finn, usually makes her head ache.

"That is very inspiring, Alex."

"Yeah, I have my moments." He said, shrugging. They chuckled. She realized she hadn't been this happy in a long time. As a matter of fact, it wasn't that long, considering the day she met Alex "Anyway, I don't get one thing in this scenario."

"What?" There was a bench nearby and Rachel guided them there so they could sit and talk.

"When I asked about you, there were students that said you dated Finn Hudson. He's the quarterback, right?" She nodded "Well, shouldn't that take you to the top of the social ladder?"

Rachel hesitated.

"Hm, well, not really. See, Finn is on the football team but he's also in glee club and, here, that is worse than not being in the football team. Therefore, when he started dating me, McKinley's biggest freak, instead of enhancing my reputation, I think I ruined his."

"Did he dump you for his reputation?"

"No, no! I did something really bad. And I'm not sure of this, but I think he doesn't care so much about his reputation. Anyway, mine is back to below than zero."

Alex looked at her, thoughtfully.

"So, what have you done so bad that Mr. Reputation couldn't handle?"

"I don't want to scare you off already. I'll tell you in another occasion, okay?" She smiled.

"That's a deal, missy!" He said, playfully "You better don't forget about it."

"I won't." She assured him.

Alex smiled at her, sweetly. He didn't have a lopsided grin, but his grin was adorable, cute, almost childish. And Rachel loved childish grins just as much as lopsided ones.

He cleared his throat, which took Rachel back to reality.

"You're staring at my lips right now and I'm fighting back the urge to kiss you right away, because I can see that you're obviously still in love with the guy. I don't wanna do something we might regret later." She immediately looked away, blushing furiously "Bye, Rachel. See you around."

"Goodbye, Alex." She managed to mumble, but he was gone already.

She heard the bell ringing a while later, signaling her next class, but she really didn't fell like she wanted to move. However, she gathered herself and stood up, heading to the classroom. She was still astonished of how reasonable Alex could be. He was so different from the others boys of their age. He doesn't care about reputation or social status, he talks like a grown up and he acts like one, too. Rachel was really glad that she had the chance to meet him.

The day went by without any more encounters with Alex, but plenty with Finn. He was always borderline rude with her and mostly cold. He just said the necessary. Nothing more and nothing less. She had the feeling that he was a complete stranger to her. And that went on for days.

One morning, he was at his locker and she thought about facing him and ask why he was giving her such a hard time. Of course, she already knew the answer, but still… if he really wanted to move on, he had to stop the immature behavior towards her. She took a step in his direction and something stopped her.

It wasn't something, but someone. Alex.

"Hello Rachel." He seemed nervous and Rachel started to concern.

"Hi. Is everything okay? You're a little bit pale." She moved her hand to his forehead, feeling his temperature. He was hot, but the normal hot, not the sick hot. He shook her hand away from his forehead but kept it between his hands.

"I'm okay. But I want to ask you something."

"Go ahead." She encouraged him.

"I… uh… would you… can…" He hesitated, stuttering "Damn it, Alex! It's not like she will bite you…" he mumbled to himself, but Rachel heard him and giggled, relaxing him a little bit and making him let out a chuckle "I wanted to ask you out on a date, but it seems that around you, I don't even know how to speak, so maybe it isn't a great idea to invite you to dinner and then just grunt, while you think about the things you could be doing with that waste of time."

Rachel chuckled lightly. She wanted to accept, she really did. But something inside her told her not to. She didn't even know why, because she actually felt that her heart was safe around Alex. What harm could a little dinner do? Still, the words that came from her mouth were very different from what she wanted to say.

"I'm really flattered that you want my company, but I don't think I can do that right now." She saw his face fall, and immediately felt a pang at the pit of her stomach. Guilt. She hated to feel guilt "It's only temporary, Alex. If you can wait a little longer, until I'm ready, I'll go on a date with you."

He gave her a sad smile.

"You're just saying that, so I don't feel so miserable."

"No! I mean it! Ask me again next week or so and maybe the answer will be different." She paused "I really like you, Alex. In these past two weeks you've been my only friend and I feel really good around you. But… there are still so many issues involving me and you don't deserve less than someone who is totally focused on you. In this moment, I can't do that. I'm still in love with Finn. That probably won't change until next week, but maybe I'll be able to move on. Right now, I don't feel like I can do that. Just, please, don't give up on me yet!"

She was pleading. She really didn't want him to give up on her. Finn had already done that. A lot. She didn't need another boy to do the same thing. But it also didn't feel right for her to ask him that. He could try to be happy with somebody else, like he deserved. Although, Rachel was too selfish to let him go.

"I won't give up on you." He said, blatantly "At least, not until you say the words '_I don't want you to chase me like a serial killer anymore_'!" He added with a grin and she giggled.

Then, unexpectedly, Rachel pulled him for a hug.

"Thank you." She whispered in his ear.

They stepped back and Alex nodded. Rachel gave him a smile and turning on her heels, she followed her path to the next class. It was only when Finn blocked her way that she remembered that she wanted to speak with him.

"Was the new guy bothering you?" He asked, with no '_Hi_', '_Hello_' or even a '_Hey_'.

She frowned at him. His attitude was making her downright _pissed_.

"Do I look bothered?" She asked, sharply.

Finn scratched the back of his head.

"As a matter of fact, yes, you look bothered."

"Oh, and I am! Just not with Alex." She looked at him pointedly "I'm bothered by your immature attitude. You don't greet me, at all. You don't talk to me. And you _ignore_ me. But then, you can't resist asking me about the new guy. Without any manners, so impolitely. If you want to know something about him, just go and ask him yourself."

With no further conversation, she walked around him and resumed her way to the classroom.

Later that day, after glee club rehearsal, she was on her way to the parking lot when she saw Finn's silhouette leaning against his truck and a brunette Cheerio leaned against him. She had never seen that Cheerio before or, at least, she didn't pay attention to her, because she didn't recognize her. Then they kissed. Rachel's heart sank deep on her chest and her eyes welled up. She was definitely not ready to see that. She wasn't expecting that he was the one who moved on faster. Then, something clicked on her brain and even her inner voice said it: _Maybe you're ready to move on, either. Maybe you just needed to see that to wake up from your numbness._

She wiped her eyes, pulled her phone out of her pocket and searched for Alex's number. Until she remembered that she didn't have it. She laughed, bringing the attention of some students to her, but she didn't mind.

The next day, she would tell Alex that he didn't have to wait for the next week. He could ask her right away, because she was finally ready to focus on him and him only, like he deserved. She was finally ready to move on and leave Finn in her past.

So, the next day she approached Alex and said it.

"Ask me now." He looked at her, puzzled. "Ask me now and I'll say yes. I want to go on a date with you. I want to take a chance on you. And I want your phone number and your email address, so we can exchange texts and instant messages."

Alex laughed and she smiled at him.

"Rachel, would you like to go out on a date with me?"

"I'd love to." She replied, beaming at him.

"Are you always this effusive?" he asked, genuinely curious.

She chuckled and blushed slightly.

"Most of the times, yes."

"I couldn't care less."

They smiled at each other and then she saw, from the corner of her eye, Finn with the Cheerio on his arm, passing by them and staring. She didn't mind, because she actually didn't pay much attention to that. Then, Rachel and Alex parted ways and when she arrived at the classroom, Finn had a smug and defiant look on his face and the Cheerio was still there, like an extent of his arm. Rachel glanced at them and smiled. Nothing could ruin her good mood. Surprisingly, not even Finn.

* * *

_Said you found someone, someone like you, __  
__I'm hoping she does better than I did with you, __  
__I don't wish you bad, but you left me sad, __  
__You came and broke my heart into a million pieces... __  
__Got it all in my head, the words you said, __  
__Before you left... _

_

* * *

_

_So, what do you think? I didn't want to make it to rushed, but this was the best I could make..._

_Was it good, bad or mediocre? =D_

_Let me know!_

_SLopez_


	3. Half Of My Heart

_Hello everyone! :)_

_First of all, thanks to all of you who read, review and add to favorites or story alert! It really means a lot to me! :)_

_Now, enough with the talking. Let's move onto the chapter! :) This one is from Finn's POV.  
_

_**Disclaimer:** Don't own Glee. And the song is by John Mayer._

* * *

**Moving On**

**Chapter 3: Half Of My Heart**

**

* * *

**

_Half of my heart's got a grip on the situation__  
__Half of my heart takes time__  
__Half of my heart's got the right mind to tell you that__  
__I can`t keep loving you__  
__Oh, with half of my heart_

_

* * *

_

It still ached whenever Rachel passed by him like he wasn't there. If he must be honest, he has to admit that he pushed the situation. He started to ignore her since the break up and he ignore her more since the end of winter break.

Then, that new guy came into the picture and made everything worse. Sure, Finn didn't want anything to do with her (for now), he was still hurting and he didn't believe he could love her if he was still so broken. But seeing her with that guy, that she barely knew, it was just too much to handle, right now. Every time she was with Alex (that's the dude's name, right?), her eyes looked like they wanted to pop out of their orbs. Pretty much the way she used to look at him.

The other day, he eavesdropped on their conversation in the hallway. The dude was asking her out. When she said no, he grinned to himself and then retired. He didn't need to hear anything else. He was already quite satisfied with her answer. Yes, he was being a jerk, because everyone deserves to be happy (even her, though she had cheated on him), but he didn't think Rachel should be with anyone but him and since he didn't want her in the moment, she should be with no one.

When he got back from the bathroom he saw the two of them still talking. Wait, haven't she said that she didn't want to go out with the guy? Why was she still talking to him? His protective nature towards her was starting to emerge. He really didn't want to feel protective over the girl who stomped all over his heart and broke it in half, but the truth is that he couldn't control it. It was stronger than him.

"Was the new guy bothering you?" He asked, more coldly than he wanted.

She frowned at him and looked like she wanted to slap him at any moment.

"Do I look bothered?"

Finn didn't know what to say and scratched the back of his head, gaining some time.

"As a matter of fact, yes, you look bothered."

"Oh, and I am! Just not with Alex." She looked at him pointedly "I'm bothered by your immature attitude. You don't greet me, at all. You don't talk to me. And you _ignore_ me. But then, you can't resist asking me about the new guy. Without any manners, so impolitely. If you want to know something about him, just go and ask him yourself."

He surely wasn't waiting for that. When did she become so bitter with him? Oh, right… when he started to treat her like nothing. But he just couldn't pretend that she didn't cheat on him. Though he knew he was overreacting, he wasn't willing to admit that to himself. He wasn't ready to forgive her already. Well, at least, she wasn't going on a date with the other kid. Not everything was bad.

After glee club, that day, he headed to his truck and a bunch of Cheerios approached him.

"Hi, _Finnocence_!" greeted Santana, in a seductive voice "Where are you going?"

"Home. What _the fudge_ do you want?" He asked, bothered.

"You know, my girls and I were playing truth or dare at lunch and this newbie one," she pointed to a tall, brunette, green eyed girl he had never seen before, dressed as a Cheerio "was dared to kiss the quarterback. She was expecting Sam, but she thinks you're not bad yourself, either, so…"

Finn scowled and passed through them to open his truck's door.

"Forget about it. I don't want to be a part of your stupid jokes."

Santana blocked his way.

"Not even if you can have the midget back by making her jealous?" She arched a brow, suggestively.

He looked at her, in disbelief.

"I'm not falling for that again. The last time you suggested that, you ended up ruining my life so, no thanks."

Her face fell, but she composed herself right away.

"I wasn't talking about me. And it's just a kiss. The dwarf will never know, if that's the problem."

Finn considered what she said. He really didn't want to kiss the girl. He didn't even know her. But he knew that if he didn't agree with that kiss, the rest of the Cheerios would treat the poor girl like trash, and he didn't want the blame for that on him. He nodded, silently.

The other Cheerios left the girl alone with him and she immediately leaned against him. Man, those Cheerios learn pretty quickly how to be all over a guy! With that thought in his head, he found himself leaning down and laying a simple kiss on the girl's lips. However she was too eager and easily parted his lips, dipping her tongue inside his mouth. As soon as he realized what was happening, he pushed her away, frowning.

"Calm down! The dare was only a kiss. It didn't have you eating my face written in the contract."

Then, he looked away and spotted Rachel wiping something off of her face. Was she crying? He wanted, so _badly_, to go over there and hug her. But then, he remembered what she did and an image of Puck's lips on hers made him see the world in red. Besides, she had her new boy toy now, why the hell should she be crying? Then he heard a laugh and he glanced in her direction. Was she laughing now? He just became more enraged with that, even if he didn't have a reason to be.

"What's your name, anyway?" He asked the Cheerio by his side, roughly.

"Erica."

"Well, Erica, will you have a fake relationship with me? It can raise your rep." He said, without any emotion in his voice. Secretly, he hoped the girl would say no. He had done so many stupid things and he was sure this was just another one of them. He didn't even know why he suggested it. No wonder that everyone thought he was the dumbest kid in that school.

"Sure." Was the plain answer the girl gave him.

He went home that day, feeling empty. Almost as empty as in the moment after he'd lost his V-card to Santana. If something made him feel empty, it should be a sign that nothing good would come from it.

So, when the fact of him fake-dating Erica came to slap him in the face, he wasn't surprised. He was passing by Rachel and Alex and overheard them making plans for a date. Didn't she say no, just yesterday? Why were they making plans? Of course, she would change her mind as soon as she saw him kissing Erica. He knew it. He knew that he should have been quiet and done nothing. Never, _ever_, make contracts with the Devil (the Devil being Santana, obviously). Or Demons. He should have learnt from the first time, but he was slow. Painfully slow.

That same day, when he heard Rachel and Alex making plans, he passed near her, every time he had a chance, with Erica on his arm (yeah, instead of stopping with the fake thing, he made it worse), but all what she did was smile at them. Why didn't she fight back? He wanted her to fight back. Because he was tired of fighting with himself. He _needed _her to fight with him. To spat some big, expensive words at him that, even if he didn't know what they meant, it would put some sense into his head.

She didn't. Not even once. He knew she was hurting, he could see it in her eyes, but she kept talking to Alex and being with him, maybe already dating him. She was moving on and it didn't feel good.

It took him a week to end the fake relationship with Erica. A week to realize what he already knew for so long. That Rachel still held half of his heart and he couldn't love anyone else, or be with anyone else (even in a fake way) that wasn't her. A week to finally understand that he had forgiven her a long time ago. He was just too proud to admit it.

So, after that week, he approached her, trying to rectify his past mistakes.

"Hey, Rach." He said in a weak voice, like he didn't want to disturb her. She seemed genuinely surprised.

"Finn…" She managed to say, as a breath.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm no longer dating Erica." He blurted out. In fact, he didn't know what to say to her and he certainly didn't want to say _that_, but it slipped out. Maybe it was a good thing.

"Oh… Okay." She replied softly, smiling at him "So her name is Erica?" He nodded "I didn't know that. Are you okay with the break up?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." He said, trying the best he could to be gentle. He spent so much time treating her bad that he had to fight that urge now, if he wanted to have her back "I've wanted to ask you some…"

Her phone interrupted him. She grabbed it, read the text message and then smiled uneasy at him.

"Can we talk later? It's Alex and I have to go meet him. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. We'll talk later. It's not important anyway."

She smiled at him.

"Thanks Finn. See you at glee club."

Finn nodded at her and then she was gone. She left him with a pang in his chest and a wish to follow her. But he didn't. He had to do things right this time and actually fight for her. He couldn't live with only half a heart. He needed his heart whole and he needed her for that.

_Baby steps, Hudson, baby steps._

What he didn't know was that the universe was working against him. Apparently, Erica didn't take their break up that easily and right before glee club, she went to talk to him.

"Why the hell did you broke up with me?" she asked, hastily.

Finn was caught by surprise and stuttered.

"I… we… you knew this relationship between us was fake from the beginning. I just ended something that wasn't going anywhere. I thought you understood that!"

The girl sneered at him.

"Oh and I did understand perfectly, Finn! The thing is, I had a rising reputation and you breaking up with me will make that fall down to zero again."

"You can tell everyone that it was you who broke up with me, there's no problem." Finn suggested, trying to avoid a scene in the hallway.

"No way! You won't get off that easy. You're going to say we're still together, okay? Or else, your beloved gleek freak will suffer from my wrath." He gasped and opened his mouth to reply but she silenced him with her lips. He felt dirty, instantly. Then, she stepped away "I'm glad we can make it work again."

Smirking, she turned on her heels, swaying her hips and booing Rachel in her way. The tiny girl stepped aside with a disgusted expression in her face. Great. Rachel saw that. His chances to fall into good graces with her were now lower than ever. He had to try, anyway.

"I'm sorry that she booed you. She's a little bitchy."

Rachel looked at him in disbelief.

"So, why are you dating her? Right after you told me you were through with her?"

"I… I don't know. Why are you dating the new kid?" He couldn't stop the bitterness in his voice and turning the game into his favor by asking her the same question was all he managed to think.

"I'm not dating him. I've been on dates with him." She replied, matter-of-factly.

"And what's the difference?" He defied her.

She hesitated and looked at the floor.

"We never kissed. I never asked him to and he never forced it, so… it doesn't count as dating. It only counts as going out on dates."

Part of Finn was happy about that. He could already feel hope swelling his heart. But the other part, the jerk part, couldn't resist making a sarcastic comment.

"You never asked him to kiss you? Who would imagine that you, who asked me to kiss you while I was dating someone else and asked Puck to kiss you while you were dating me, can't ask for a little kiss to the guy you're interested in? That's just awesome!" He laughed, unpleasantly.

Rachel looked at him and snarled.

"Please, Finn, just get over it! It's getting old!"

"Maybe you don't like him that much." Finn stated, ignoring her comment.

She folded her arms tightly against her chest and frowned.

"Maybe it's none of your business." She stared at him, defiantly "You should care more about your own love life and leave mine alone. Oh, and put a leash on your bimbo girlfriend before she bites someone."

She passed past him in the choir room's direction and, though the situation was not on his favor, he couldn't help but smile at her last remark. However, he had to try to be in good terms with her again. With or without Alex in the picture.

* * *

_You will hate that I never gave more to you__  
__than half of my heart__  
__But I can't stop loving you__  
__But I can't stop loving you__  
__But I can't stop loving you_

_With half of my, half of my heart__  
__Oh, half of my heart__  
__Half of my heart's got a real good imagination__  
__Half of my heart's got you__  
__Half of my heart's got a right mind to tell you__  
__That half of my heart won't do_

_

* * *

_

_Bonus points to those who find the 'Supernatural' references in this chapter! :) (Yes, I'm that hooked on the show...)_

_So, did you like it or hate it?_

_Let me know!_

_SLopez  
_


	4. You Keep Me Hangin' On

_Hi everyone! :)_

_Thanks for all your support, for all the reviews, adding to favorites and/or alert! You are amazing! :)_

_**Disclaimer:** Don't own Glee. And she song belongs originally to The Supremes, and since they used it in the show, I think it also belongs to Glee now! :)_

* * *

**Moving On**

**Chapter 4: You Keep Me Hangin' On**

**

* * *

**

_Set me free, why don't you babe  
Get out my life, why don't you babe  
'Cause you don't really love me  
You just keep me hangin' on  
You don't really need me  
But you keep me hangin' on  
_  
_Why do you keep a coming around__  
__Playing with my heart?__  
__Why don't you get out of my life__  
__And let me make a new start?__  
__Let me get over you__  
__The way you've gotten over me, hey!_

* * *

The first date with Alex was really great.

He took her to Breadstix and they had a quiet dinner where they could get to know each other better. Rachel told him about being the only daughter of two gay men and that last year her mother turned her down.

"I'm really sorry, Rachel. I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to have you."

She smiled, shyly.

"You're really sweet, Alex."

"I'm not trying to please you. Well, not only…"

They chuckled, amused by one another.

"Now it's time for you to tell me something about yourself."

"Okay. So, I have two baby twin sisters, Margaret and Hannah. We live with our father. My mother died a couple of months ago, while giving birth to the twins and, since we have family here, we decided to move to Lima."

Rachel took her hand to her chest and felt her eyes welling up.

"Oh my God, that's so tragic. I'm so, so sorry."

"It's okay." He stated softly "We were kind of expecting it. My mother had an unstable heart condition and being over forty years old, her pregnancy was already risky." He paused, as a tear slid down Rachel's face "Well, then the twins decided to born a month before the expected and my mom's heart was not strong enough. She passed away after pushing the big girls out."

"That's so sad." Rachel sniffled "I'm really sorry."

"It's okay, really. It's all part of the growing process."

"Yes, but still… It was too sudden. If one of my dads died, I don't know what I would do."

"Yeah…" His voice cracked and his eyes reddened "It has been a little hard. Harder since my dad decided that the twins should take the blame on mom's death." Rachel opened her mouth, shocked "But he's getting better and now he even holds them. Anyway, I'm just sad that the girls won't be able to meet the fantastic mother they had."

Rachel didn't know what to say. She wasn't ready for such a terrible past. She expected anything but such a tragic way to be moving to Lima.

"Anytime you need someone to talk, or to help you with babysitting the twins, I'm here, Alex!" She said, reaching out for his hand and squeezing it. He nodded at her, saying "thanks" with his piercing blue eyes.

"Let's change the subject, shall we?" He asked.

"Of course! So, what do you do with your free time? Any hobbies?"

He seemed to ponder on her question.

"Well, I'm addicted to TV shows and I enjoy a good read. And that pretty much sums it all up." She smiled "What about you?"

"Well, as you know, I'm in the glee club, which takes a lot of my time, since I'm one of the captains. At home, I record videos of me singing and I post them on MySpace. Other than that, every time I have the chance, I watch _Funny Girl_ or _Grease_ or any other musical. _Again_."

"I'd love to hear you singing."

She blushed, lightly.

"You can check my MySpace videos or better, you can join the glee club." She said, enthusiastically.

He laughed.

"I don't think so. Singing is not really my thing. I don't even sing in the shower. My dad forbids it!" Rachel giggled, amused "He thinks that I might deaf the twins."

"I don't believe you're that bad. Besides, we have Mike Chang in the club. He's not very good at singing, but he has amazing dancing skills."

"Well, that's another thing I suck at. If I joined the club I think I would be embarrassing you guys, instead of helping. So, let's keep it this way."

She chuckled.

"If you say so. I would like to have you there."

"Thanks, Rachel, but that's already out of the question. And isn't it good that you have a friendship with other people outside the glee club?"

That question lingered in her head for days. Yes, it was definitely good to have someone by her side outside the glee club. In fact, he was the only person by her side, glee club or not (she was still resented that her fellow glee clubbers only pretend to like her). But she wanted Alex to be with her all the time. Because if he's not there, with her, she might fall apart, no matter how hard she tries not to.

She shouldn't rely so much on someone. She had done that before and her world got upside down. More than three days have passed and she still hadn't adjusted. Where's the independent Rachel she used to be? She knew she was independent once before, but it seemed to have been lost in the way. Along with Finn.

_Wow_. Where did this come from? She pushed her thoughts aside and tried to focus on something else. Like her second date with Alex.

It was a Saturday afternoon and they made a picnic on her front yard. It was nice and calm, like the first date, and in the end, when he walked her to the door, she noticed something in his eyes. She saw that glint numerous times. The first one was at the auditorium, when she was helping Finn with his vocals. They sat and started the little snack she had prepared, until she saw the look in his eyes. And Alex had the same look in his. He wanted to kiss her. And she wished, wholeheartedly, that she wanted it too. Instead, she laid a simple kiss on his cheek. A simple kiss that said _I'm getting there. Please, wait for me._

So far, it looked like Alex was willing to wait for her. But she couldn't ask him to wait forever. That's something really cruel to ask someone.

Then, they had the third date, on a Tuesday night. They went to the cinema to watch the new romantic comedy and after that, he walked her home. In the way, they asked a lot of questions to each other, like what were they favorite colors, favorite movies, favorite books and the list would go on and on.

"So, are you ready to tell me what happened between you and Finn?" He asked, out of nowhere. Rachel felt like the air had left her lungs and he must have noticed "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it."

"No, there's no problem." She said, shaking her head vigorously "It's just… you'll think I'm a bad person after this."

"I really don't know what you did, but I'm pretty sure I'll understand. At least, I'll try to. I promise."

She nodded, silently and then told him the whole story. How she and Finn started dating after the baby gate and how he dumped her for Brittany and Santana. How she started dating Jesse and how he broke her heart (like an eggshell, by the way…). How she started dating Finn again, after he said "I love you". How they spent the summer together. How school started and hell started with it. How Santana bullied her all the time and Finn sometimes encouraged her instead of stand up for her. How she found out that Finn had lied about his virginity. How everything fell apart after that. And how she managed to make the situation even worse by making out with Puck.

"See, I was so broken, so mad, so disappointed in Finn, that… I don't know… At first, I didn't even think of it as revenge, really! But Noah was there, listening to me, doing what Finn should have done since the beginning, that I got carried away. You know, Noah was the only one, in the green room, at Sectionals, that said that he 'kinda liked me'. Everyone else kept shut, even Finn. That hurt more that you can imagine." She paused, looking at her hands "You must be despising me right now."

Alex grabbed her hand.

"No, I'm not, you silly!" He said, nudging one of her sides with his elbow "I'm not saying that you did the best of decisions. You didn't. But he is not right, either. I think you're both at fault and if you had talked, maybe you would be able to, at least, still be friends and I can see that you're not exactly in the best of terms with each other right now."

"Do you think I didn't try?" She asked "I tried, Alex, but he's as stubborn as a mule!"

He laughed and then hugged her.

"I don't think that's gonna happen to us, but if it does, I want you to know, that I will listen to what you have to say."

She tensed under his grip, but smiled, anyway.

"Thanks, Alex."

The truth is that she wasn't sure she liked Alex enough to be an '_us'_ with him. Sure he was kind, sweet, adorable, gorgeous, funny, understanding and she could go on for hours about his qualities. But… _he isn't Finn_, said her inner voice, devilishly. And she honestly believed that, even though she didn't want to. After all, he was already dating another Cheerio (why? Why the _freaking evil_ Cheerios all the time?), so he had moved on, why couldn't she? Well, she could and she would.

The next day, she had the biggest of surprises when Finn spoke to her, without treating her bad. And to tell her that he was no longer dating that crazy tall brunette that booed her every time she passed near her. She felt hope for something that she didn't know what it was. But then Alex texted her and she had to meet him.

He wanted to plan another date and she, absentmindedly, agreed. She had her head in another place, with another person.

When glee club was about to start, she headed to the choir room. She stopped dead on her tracks when she saw the new Cheerio (_Erica_, she spit in her mind, _it's a stripper's name…_) talking to Finn and then kiss him.

The hypocrite. He almost made her fell in his tricks again! He was so going to be beaten up by a song.

The Cheerio passed by her, booing (again) and she stepped aside, disgusted.

"I'm sorry that she booed you. She's a little bitchy."

Rachel looked at him, squinting.

"So, why are you dating her? Right after you told me you were through with her?" She couldn't help but to remark that.

"I… I don't know. Why are you dating the new kid?" He asked, sharply, turning the conversation into his favor.

"I'm not dating him. I've been on dates with him." Rachel replied, matter-of-factly.

"And what's the difference?" He asked, full of himself.

She hesitated looking at the floor.

"We never kissed. I never asked him to and he never forced it, so… it doesn't count as dating. It only counts as going out on dates."

Finn made a funny face, something with sarcasm plastered all over it.

"You never asked him to kiss you? Who would imagine that you, who asked me to kiss you while I was dating someone else and asked Puck to kiss you while you were dating me, can't ask for a little kiss to the guy you're interested in? That's just awesome!" And he laughed in her face.

Rachel snarled at him.

"Please, Finn, just get over it! It's getting old!"

"Maybe you don't like him that much." He stated, like he was the Mr. Know-it-all.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at him.

"Maybe it's none of your business." She replied, defiantly "You should care more about your own love life and leave mine alone. Oh, and put a leash on your bimbo girlfriend before she bites someone."

Rachel continued her way to the choir room and heard him snickering. He was so going to regret that! As soon as Mr. Schuester entered the choir room and all her teammates were sat in their respective chairs, she raised her hand.

"Mr. Schuester!" she called, frantically.

"Good afternoon everyone. And, what's the problem, Rachel?"

She stood up and approached the teacher.

"I didn't have a song prepared but I really need to express myself right now, so if you don't mind, I'd like to sing something that absolutely shows what I'm feeling in this particular moment." She never stopped glaring at Finn, during her speech, as if to make a point. _Yes, you are going to be beaten by a song_, said her inner voice, _enjoy_.

"Go ahead!" Said the teacher.

She approached Brad and the band and murmured.

"Do you know the song _You Keep Me Hanging On_ by The Supremes, right?" They nodded "Good. You can start it, whenever you want to."

The melody started echoing in the air and she started to sing, staring pointedly at Finn. All the heads in the choir room turned to the boy and he seemed to be sinking in his chair.

_Set me free, why don't you babe__  
__Let me be, why don't you babe__  
__'Cause you don't really love me__  
__You just keep me hangin' on__  
__Now you don't really want me__  
__You just keep me hangin' on_

_You say although we broke up_  
_You still wanna be just friends_  
_But how can we still be friends_  
_When seeing you only breaks my heart again_  
_And there ain't nothing I can do about it_

_Set me free, why don't you babe_  
_Get out my life, why don't you babe_  
_You don't really love me  
You just keep me holding on_

Everyone looked like they were getting why she chose that song, including her target, but she kept singing until the end, like her life depended on it. When she ended the song she felt like the mission was accomplished. And, she wasn't expecting, but everyone cheered her, including Mr. Schuester. And except Finn, of course.

"Well, Rachel, that was really powerful! See, guys, that's how your performances should always be. You should learn…" She knew Mr. Schue was praising her, but she actually wasn't paying attention. In fact, all she could think about was Alex. She had already found somebody else, she only had to make it happen now. And Rachel Berry was always good at making things happen.

That night, when Alex took her out on a date again, she was waiting until the right moment to tell him that she was ready to have a relationship with him. But he seemed uneasy all night. Although, when they reached her porch, he grabbed her hands.

"Rachel, I know that you're probably not ready to take this step with me and be my girlfriend, but…"

"Yes." She said, cutting him off with a smile on her lips.

"What?" he asked confused.

"I am ready to be your girlfriend. Yes, I want to be your girlfriend!" she replied, beaming at him.

He had a wide, cute, childish smile on his face and she never loved that smile more than in that moment.

"Is it alright if I kiss you now?" he asked, leaning down.

"No." she whispered "It's perfect."

The next thing she felt were his lips brushing softly on hers. It felt strange, like his lips didn't perfectly match hers. It was a good strange. But strange, nevertheless. He left her hands and grabbed her waist instead, while she grasped his arms. He stepped away for a while, to look at her face. The moon was shining on both of them and the moment was perfect. All Rachel could see in Alex's eyes was love, which was only enhanced by the moon's brightness. When he leaned down again to kiss her, a little less unsure, she felt tiny butterflies in her stomach.

It was nothing like Finn, but it was the best in her life at the moment and she had to move on, like he had already done.

Without further thoughts, she gave in to the kiss.

* * *

_You claim you still care for me_  
_But your heart and soul needs to be free_  
_Now that you've got your freedom_  
_You wanna still hold on to me_  
_You don't want me for yourself_  
_So let me find somebody else, hey!_

_Why don't you be a man about it_  
_And set me free_  
_Now you don't care a thing about me_  
_You're just using me_  
_Go on, get out, get out of my life_  
_And let me sleep at night, please_  
_'Cause you don't really love me_  
_You just keep me hangin' on... _

_

* * *

_

_Bonus points to those of you who find the reference from the show "Bones"! :)_

_I hope it isn't too weird to have Rachel singing one of Quinn's songs from the season 1. I thought that since Quinn didn't perform in front of everyone and was more like a dream sequence, it wasn't weird to have Rachel singing it. And I really think it fits right in the chapter._

_Anyway, good or bad?_

_Let me know!_

_SLopez_


	5. Time For Miracles

_Hi everyone!_

_Thanks so much for all the support! And thanks for the reviews, for adding to favorites and/or story alert._

_Special thanks to sandra-wfg who helped me with the song choice! This one's for you! :)_

_**Disclaimer:** Glee isn't mine. And the songs featured in this chapter are by Adam Lambert and Mark Salling (Musical Soulmate)_

* * *

**Moving On**

**Chapter 5: Time For Miracles**

**

* * *

**

_It's late at night and I can't sleep__  
__Missing you just runs too deep__  
__Oh I can't be thinking of your smile_

_Every kiss you can't forget__  
__This aching heart ain't broken yet__  
__Oh God I wish I could make you see__  
__Cuz I know this flame isn't dying__  
__So nothing can stop me from trying_

_

* * *

_

After their talk in the hallway, Finn followed Rachel to the choir room. Soon after, Mr. Schue came in and Rachel's hand flew above her head. She was so adorable when she was doing that, when she wanted to be the first at everything. He smiled, remembering past times, thinking how much he wanted to be with her again. His smile faltered.

She was talking to Mr. Schue saying she needed to express her feelings and stuff, while looking at him, with an angry expression on her beautiful face. _That's not good_, he thought. When she approached Brad and the band, she mumbled something to them and he had a feeling that it was going to be _Gives You Hell_ all over again. He was quite curious what song she would choose, though.

Finn regretted being curious the moment Brad started to play the piano. He recognized that song and it was not good for him. She started singing, her eyes never leaving his and he wanted that a worm hole magically appeared on the ground and just eat him.

_Let me get over you  
The way you've gotten over me_

If there were any doubts that she was singing to him, they went away in the second she sang those words. All eyes in the choir room averted to him and he wished for the worm hole with all his strength. His prayers weren't answered. Slowly, the glee clubbers started to focus more on Rachel than on him and he relaxed a little.

_You don't want me for yourself  
So let me find somebody else_

She was so wrong. She had no idea how wrong she was. Because he wanted her, so badly it hurt. He just couldn't do anything. The Cheerio had threatened Rachel's well-being and Rachel was oh-so-the-new-guy-is-all-I-can-see, he had no idea what to do. He just wanted both of the outsiders in the, well… _outside_. Outside of that school and outside of their lives and outside of everything that had to do with him and Rachel.

_But maybe if they were outside of your lives you wouldn't figure out that you already forgave Rachel a long time ago_, said that nagging voice inside of his head, remarkably.

And then, everyone was giving her a standing ovation, without the standing part. He just tried to sink even more into his chair. What was with this girl and kicking his ass with songs? Everybody seemed to be on her side now, even Mr. Schue. Not that he could blame them, she was singing her heart out. But… she was knocking him out in the process.

He deserved it, he knew. However, it hurt. Knowing that she wanted him to leave her the hell alone so she could move on, hurt like he was being stabbed (not that he had ever been stabbed, but he imagined it must be really hurtful). And he had to do something about that, because his heart was already aching _so much _for not having her, he really didn't need metaphorical knives piercing what was left of it.

He spent almost the entire night thinking what he could do to win Rachel back. She wasn't dating the dude, so maybe there was still hope. With that thought, he finally fell asleep.

His hopes were crushed as soon as he saw Rachel walking through McKinley's hallways holding hands with Alex. How and when did that happen? He saw Mercedes get to them and cheerfully ask the same question that was rolling in his head. He didn't wait for the answer. He actually didn't care, because, no matter what the answer would be, he could do nothing about it. She was happy, he could see that from a million miles away. She was smiling again and, as long as the dude kept making her smile like that, he was good. He just wished _he_ was the dude that made her smile.

But he wasn't. There was nothing he could do about it.

And for a whole week he thought that way. Anytime he saw her, she was with Alex by her side, always with a smile on her lips. Something was not okay with her smile, though. Finn just didn't know what it was, yet.

One day, he caught Alex stealing a kiss from her. She was startled at first, but then kissed him back. His heart sank further down in his chest and his stomach churned. He wasn't prepared for that. One thing was seeing them holding hands or being sweet with each other. Another completely different, hurtful, painful thing was to see them kissing. It was like a wakeup call to reality. He just wanted to go back to fantasy, where he imagined her kissing his lips, not Alex's, over and over and over again. He missed so much the way their lips matched.

There was nothing he could do about it.

Unless… unless he manned up and actually fight for her, make her see that they belong together and not apart. Sure, she might be smiling with the new guy by her side. Suddenly, he realized what was wrong with her smile. It didn't reach her eyes. And if the smile didn't reach her eyes, something's not okay. He knew her that well. So, maybe he had a chance. Another one. He hoped he wouldn't blow it this time.

When he got home that afternoon, he started making a plan to win her back. He gave up half an hour later, because he wasn't good at planning things. That was Rachel's thing, when they were boyfriend and girlfriend. She planned their dates, their study hours, their singing hours, everything. Oddly, he missed that.

_And you won't have it back if you don't grow some balls and plan something already_, again the nagging voice. He scrabbled something in a piece of paper (that's how he plans things, so he won't forget anything). He felt inspiration bubbling up inside him and fifteen minutes later he had a full written page. He was proud of himself. Rachel would be proud of him too, he was sure about that.

He went to bed, with intentions to put his plan in motion the next day. That night he dreamt about Rachel countless times, but it always ended the same way: Rachel jumping into his arms and saying "Oh, Finn, I love you so much! Let's never break-up again and hurt each other purposely". Of course, he knew those were just dreams. There was no way Rachel Berry would start dating him again, without a five minutes rant with big, awesome words that he wouldn't understand.

He woke up with a grin on his face. When he went to school, he was noticed the grin didn't disappear. Maybe it was going to be a good day, after all.

He was heading to class, when he spotted Erica. Time to put the plan in action.

_ Step 1: Break up with bitchy Cheerio girlfriend who's probably cheating on you with Sam, since he and Quinn are no longer an item._

"Hey Erica!" He called, earning himself a glare. Clearly, he had interrupted something important for her. He couldn't care less.

"What do you want?" She hissed "Can't you see I'm busy here?"

Finn shrugged.

"Not really." He replied, dryly "Can we talk in private?"

She arched a brow and folded her arms in front of her chest.

"No. Since you've interrupted me and my friends, they can hear whatever you have to say."

He knew it was a bad thing to do, but he smirked and shrugged again.

"It's your choice." She rolled her eyes "I want to break up with you. And there's nothing you can say now, that makes me change my mind."

Erica looked at him with wide eyes, mouth hanged open, like she didn't believe what he was saying.

"You what?" She shrieked.

"I said I want to break up with you. And that I won't change my mind."

"You can't break up with me!" She yelled. The reason he asked her to talk privately was to avoid a scene in the hallway, but maybe it was better this way. Everyone was now a witness that he had broken up with her.

"Yes, I can and I will. Consider it done." He spat at her.

"Is it because of the gleek freak?" She asked, still yelling "If it is, I'm going to make her life a living hell!"

Finn frowned.

"First of all, she isn't a freak. Her name is Rachel. And second of all, you can threaten me whenever you want, but if something happens to Rachel and I discover it was because of you, you will regret it." He paused, letting the words settle "These issues are between me and you. You have no right to drag her into this. Besides, these issues are not even real. We weren't a real couple and you know it. So leave me the hell alone!"

He turned around and faced a wide-eyed Rachel. Was she there all the time? Did she hear it all? God, he hoped so.

"You broke up with her?" She asked in a low, uneasy voice.

"Yes. For good." He replied, smiling down at her.

She looked up and returned the smile, before walking past him and join Alex, who was in the other side of the hallway.

_Step 2: Make sure Rachel gets the information that step 1 is complete. Bonus points if she sees you in action._

So far, so good. The plan was actually working as intended and he grinned happily the rest of the day. The next day, he would continue with his plan and it was much bigger than breaking up with some Cheerio.

So, the next day, he resumed his plan.

_Step 3: Talk to Rachel and compliment her, whenever you get the chance to._

She was at her locker and there were no signs of Alex. It was time to move.

"Hi, Rachel!" He greeted, giving her his half grin.

She looked at him, unsure.

"Hello." She replied. Without further conversation, she turned around and went away from him, to her next class.

Okay, so that didn't work out so well, but he would have more opportunities. At least, he hoped so. He still had glee rehearsal to make up for that. So, he waited for it. At glee, he got to the choir room little after her and sat by her side.

First, he didn't speak afraid of what could come out of his mouth (his verbal diarrhea was something he was still dealing with). Then, he glanced at her. She had a cute pink dress with white stripes, cute pink knee high socks, a white cardigan and black, flat shoes. She looked adorable.

"You look adorable." He blurted out, regretting it the second it came out of his mouth. _Damn him and speaking without thinking. _He risked another glance at her and his eyes met hers briefly. She seemed surprised and at the same time amused "I mean, your outfit is adorable and you look adorable in it." Her lips slightly twitched upwards "I mean you look beautiful."

He stopped and felt his ears getting hotter. _Way to go, Hudson,_ he thought, _Why don't you make a fool of yourself even more?_

"Thanks, Finn." She said in a soft, slow and sweet voice. It was like a beautiful melody at his ears. He blushed slightly and smiled at her.

Soon after that, the other members entered the choir room, followed by Mr. Schue. Everyone sat and Finn raised his hand, instantly. Every member, including the teacher and Rachel, looked at him with surprise. He never did that before. Rachel was the one that always wanted to be the first talking and singing and stuff. But he needed to take step 4 in his plan.

_Step 4: Do something really meaningful that has something to do with both of you. Like singing._

"Yes, Finn?" Mr. Schue asked him, almost concerned.

Finn stood up and headed to the teacher.

"I have something to say." He started. The teacher gave him a nod to make him continue. "As you all know, I'm not good with words, so I'm going to sing. Rachel told me that when you have emotions building up inside you but you don't know how to externalize them, singing is one of the best options." He paused, locking eyes with her "So… Rachel, I want to dedicate this song to you, because I think it somehow defines us. And I know you're dating that new dude, but I want you to know that I won't stop fighting for you. I'm not gonna stop fighting for_ us_." He handed the sheet music to Brad and then turned to his current-ex-best-friend "Puck, man, I know this is unexpected, but I need you to play the guitar. Besides, I think you know this song."

Puck nodded, apparently happy that his friend was even talking to him after all that happened. He grabbed his guitar, Finn muttered the name of the song to him and he started to play.

Finn looked straight at Rachel, never leaving her eyes and began to sing.

_I remember when I realized__  
__The depth of your beauty for the first time__  
__A million ears had heard you__  
__But none had listened quite like mine_

_Every phrase that leaves your lips__  
__Makes me feel as if I'm paralyzed__  
__Talking is trivial, sing another crazy note__  
__And I will be at the reload_

_The troubles that we knew before__  
__Disappear and all I know is that__  
__It makes no difference where you come from__  
__I don't care if you need my love__  
__You know I'll be there__  
__I swear I want to sing to the world__  
__No need to keep it a secret__  
__You are the one, the only__  
__My musical soulmate_

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, but he kept singing anyway. He needed to make a point, to prove that he wasn't kidding when he said he was going to fight for her, he wasn't giving up like he did last year.

_There's no way in hell that__  
__They will ever feel you like I do_

_It makes no difference where you come from__  
__I don't care if you need my love__  
__You know I'll be there__  
__I swear I want to sing to the world__  
__No need to keep it a secret__  
__You are the one, the only__  
__My musical soulmate_

He finished the song and glanced at her. Her eyes were brimming with tears that he wanted to wipe away. Everyone clapped at him. It was one of the great performances he had done, because he meant every word. He understood now the difference between singing with no emotion and singing his heart out.

Finn sat again next to her. They remained silent. He wanted her to say something, to say that she liked the song, that she liked him, that he wanted him. But it was too soon, he had to make a bigger effort on his plan.

Maybe she didn't like the song at all and that was why she was so quiet.

Then, she glanced back at him and flashed him a small smile. It gave him hope. His chest was swollen by pride, even though she hadn't said a word. She understood it. She also knew that she was _his_ musical soulmate, not Alex's. After all, the dude was not even in glee club. If Finn was him, he wouldn't let Rachel out of his sight in that situation, unless, of course, he couldn't sing. The guy probably couldn't sing. That was the only explanation.

Either way, Finn was okay with that. It meant time with Rachel, without her shadow. And more time for his plan to work.

There were still two steps left.

* * *

_Baby you know that__  
__Maybe it's time for miracles__  
__Cuz I'm not giving up on love__  
__You know that__  
__Maybe it's time for miracles__  
__Cuz I ain't giving up on love__  
__No I ain't giving up on us_

_

* * *

_

_What do you think? Good or bad?_

_Let me know!_

_SLopez_


	6. Crawling Back To You

_Hello everyone!_

_Thanks to all of you who read, review, added to favorites and/or story alert! You guys rock! :)_

_This chapter has moments with strong language, so you've been warned! Being inside Finn's head, do this to a story! :) __It's also bigger than I expected, so bear with me! ;) A__nother thing is that the characters may be a little OOC here. I had some hard time writing this chapter. My apologies in advance! :)_

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own glee nor the song. They belong to Ryan Murphy and Backstreet Boys, respectively._

* * *

**Moving On**

**Chapter 6: Crawling Back To You**

**

* * *

**

_Everybody knows__  
__that I was such a fool__  
__to ever let go of you__  
__But baby I was wrong__  
__And yeah I know I said__  
__We'd be better off alone__  
__It was time that we moved on__  
__I know I broke your heart__  
__I didn't mean to break your heart_

* * *

When Finn woke up that morning, he felt confident. His plan was working pretty well and, apparently, there was no reason why the next steps wouldn't work. He even got up earlier and entered the kitchen with a grin on his face.

"Good morning!" He greeted his mom, happily.

"Good morning, sweetie! Someone is in a good mood today!" Carole said.

He shrugged and, still grinning, grabbed his bowl and filled it with cereals.

"I have my reasons." Carole gave him a look, but said nothing and kept with her task of doing some dishes from the previous night. It was her day off.

Half an hour later, Finn was ready for school. He gave his mother a quick peck on her cheek and said his goodbyes.

He got to school much earlier than he used to (he's the kind of student that gets to school when there's only five minutes left for the class to start), but it was needed. He had to put his plan's next step in motion.

_Step 5: Prepare little things that mean a lot to her. Like, drop flowers or love notes at her locker or at her cute pink backpack, or stand up for her._

With that in mind, he reached his backpack, took a yellow piece of paper out of it and pushed it into her locker, through the tiny space under the locker's door. He knew he wasn't good with words, but he opted for simple sentences (yes, plural, because he already had other notes prepared). And he didn't sign the notes. He was like her secret admirer. The first one was _When you smile, my heart skips a beat_. He knew it was too corny and cheesy, but it was also true and she didn't know it was him, so he was on the safe side. Of course, he intended to let her know, eventually.

He headed to his locker and when he looked again, Rachel was already next to hers.

_That was close_, he thought. He glanced at her, from the corner of his eye. She was reading the note. _Oh my God, she's reading the note_, he panicked, _What if she discovers it was me right away?_ It was an unreasonable thought, because he wrote in on his computer. There was no one she could find out. But she also had that weird psychic thing, like she was inside his head. _Cool it down, Finn, she's not even looking at you._

Grabbing his book and closing his locker's door, he turned around to head to his classroom. Rachel joined him.

"Hi Finn!" She said, smiling. His heart skipped a beat, as always.

"Hey, Rach! You look beautiful today." He said "I mean, you're always beautiful, but you're smiling and you're more beautiful when you smile."

She beamed at him.

"Thanks Finn! You're the second person who says that to me today! Well, not in the same way and not with the same words, but the purpose is the same."

He grinned to himself. So, she was smiling because of her note. Score!

At lunch, he dropped a yellow daisy along with another note that said _This flower isn't as beautiful as you are, but I hope you like it_, in her backpack. And at glee rehearsal, she had the daisy adorning her dark hair. Finn smiled when he laid eyes on her. And seeing her talking merrily to Mercedes made his grin grow.

Anyway, he couldn't do it all on the first day. He had to leave something for the next days. And so he did.

The next day, he left another note inside the pages of one of her books. The day after that, he managed to break into her locker and left a red rose in there, without a note. He watched her, from distance, sniffing the flower with her eyes closed and smiling. And that plan kept going for a couple more days after that.

One day, they were at glee rehearsal, trying to reach an understanding about what they would perform at Regionals. Rachel wasn't happy about Mr. Schue's decisions and they had been arguing for a good ten minutes.

"Mr. Schuester, I just don't think that doing another Journey number, followed by an Amy Winehouse hit, will take us to Nationals. We should do something along the line of a mash-up of a Broadway hit and a contemporary song, like when Miss Holiday was your substitute and we did the mash-up _Singing In The Rain/Umbrella_."

Her eyebrows were almost touching each other of how deep was the scowl in her face and she had her arms crossed tightly in front of her chest.

"Shut up midget! No one wants to know your opinion." Santana hissed "You're only suggesting a Broadway song because you know that if we sing one of Amy's, I'll totally nail it and you'll in the back up voices again."

Rachel put her tiny hands in her hips and turned to Santana, with her eyes twinkling with anger.

"It's not like that, _Santana_. You can have the solo, even if it's Broadway. I don't care! But I really don't think Mr. Schuester's plan is the better for us. We _tied_ at Sectionals with an Amy song. We did a Journey medley last year at Regionals and we came in third, which is also _the last place_!"

The Latina snorted at her.

"Like you know it all, dwarf."

Finn couldn't take it anymore and maybe that was the perfect opportunity to stand up for her. So, he got up from his chair and went to Rachel's side, away from Mr. Schue.

"Leave her alone, Santana! What has she ever done to?"

"She exists." Sneered the Cheerio.

"Just stop messing with her."

"Or what?" Santana defied.

"Or nothing." Finn stated "I'm tired of you. Actually, I'm tired of all of the members of this club." He looked at the others, who were slumped in their chairs.

"Finn, calm down…" The teacher tried to make him reason, but he cut him off.

"No! I'm tired of you too, Mr. Schue. Because you see them bullying Rachel and you do nothing about it! Sure, she can be annoying sometimes, but there's nothing she loves more than this club and you should actually take a second to listen to her suggestions. What kind of teacher are you, anyway?" Everyone in the choir room gasped. The teacher seemed astonished and had no instant reaction. He risked a glance at Rachel and saw her covering her mouth and look at him with wide eyes. He could swear he saw a "thanks" in them.

"Finn, after rehearsal, I want you my office." Mr. Schue said, coldly.

Great, he was getting detention, he was sure of that. But it didn't matter after he saw the acknowledgement in Rachel's eyes. It made his heart beat faster.

When rehearsal was over, the members were leaving the room, except him, who was waiting for Mr. Schue. Rachel passed by him.

"Finn, what you did was very risky and it meant a lot to me." She said, with a smile on her lips.

"It's okay." He replied, looking into her eyes.

"Good luck." And she turned away. He saw Alex waiting for her outside the choir room and his heart sank.

"Finn?" The teacher called him "Come here, please."

He followed him to his office and when the teacher sat down, he sat as well.

"You're going to put me in detention, right?"

"I'm undecided, Finn. That's no way to talk to a teacher." He paused and looked at the teenager, sighing "But I have to admit that you were right."

Finn looked at his teacher, surprised.

"Really?"

"Yeah. So you're not going to detention, but you'll be punished. Just let me think of something and I'll let you know."

Finn nodded and waited for the teacher to say something, but he didn't. Then, he decided to take a shot.

"Why do you hate Rachel so much?"

Mr. Schue looked at him, his mouth open, like he had no idea what to say.

"Finn… I-I don't hate her! I don't even dislike her! Yes, she can be a little too…" he paused, searching for a word "passionate about things, but that's exactly why I like her. And I like each and every one of you equally. I have no favorites."

Finn nodded slightly, looking at his hands in his lap.

"So why do you never listen to her ideas?" He asked, catching his teacher off guard "I mean, she's the most dedicated to that club. She really works hard on everything related to glee and she wants nothing but perfection in all our performances. Yet, you keep shutting her down."

The teacher seemed to ponder his answer.

"This might sound odd for you, Finn, but that's exactly because she's so talented that I can't give her all she wants! If I gave her all she wants, all the time, the others would lose interest. And they are already so little devoted that it would be even worse."

"I understand that! And she does too! I know it, because we threw away the duet competition for Quinn and Sam." Mr. Schue arched his brows in surprise "Her idea, not mine." That only surprised the teacher more "Anyway, wouldn't you be frustrated if all your work and suggestions and efforts were denied all the time? I mean, once in a while it's okay, but every single time, it's a little tough. That's why we liked Miss Holiday. She actually listened to us. No offense, Mr. Schue."

He let out a chuckle.

"None taken. You can leave now. I'll let you know what your punishment is."

Later, he knew that his punishment was to do extra homework for Spanish class. It was not as bad as he thought it would be.

The next morning, he was walking in the hallway, close to his locker, when he heard some bustle near. It looked like a fight and he went to peek.

He saw her tiny frame in front of Azimio and Karofsky, who looked like giants next to her. They both had grapefruit sluhies in their hands and they were ready to throw them at her. Then, he saw Alex by her side.

"Why don't you just leave her alone?" Asked the boy.

The jocks laughed in his face and scoffed.

"Oh, look! The freak has another _glee-tard_ to protect her."

"She's not a freak! You're the freaks for thinking that about her." Spat Alex, furiously.

Karofsky frowned.

"What are you saying? You want to take the slushies instead of her?"

"Bring them on!" Said Alex, defiantly and shrugging.

Before anyone could say another word, the jocks showered the boy with the sticky syrups, to Rachel's shocked expression.

"Oh my God!" She murmured "Are you okay?" He nodded "Let's clean you up." And he followed her to the bathroom.

_Fuck_, he thought, _Fuck him and fuck his life_. He could never beat that. How is he supposed to win her love again if that guy took a slushie for her? _Life's a fucking bitch._

He felt numb the rest of the day and he even considered skipping football practice, but the decisive and final game was near and the Beiste would decide who the quarterback will be, so he had to suck it up and go anyway.

After practice, while his teammates headed to the locker room, he sat on the bleachers, thinking about how unfortunate his life could be.

"S'up dude?" Finn startled at first, but then recognized Puck's voice. Finn pretended he didn't listen "C'mon man, talk to me!"

"What are you doing here?" Replied Finn. He wasn't in the mood for any crap.

"I could ask you the same, Finnessa." Finn said nothing "Okay, I wanted to thank you for asking me to play the guitar, that day in glee club."

Finn shrugged and glared at his ex-friend.

"And you just remembered that now, huh? Really, besides messing with my head, what do you want, Puckerman?"

"Geez man, chill out! I'm trying to say something meaningful here!" Puck sat next to him "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry I messed up your life. Twice."

Finn repressed a chuckle. That situation was ridiculous. His best friend really messed up his life. Twice. It was hilarious in a non-funny kind of way.

"It's okay."

"No, it's not… I've never apologized for knocking Quinn up. And I know you really loved Berry, so… I'm really sorry." He paused, waiting for Finn to say something. When he didn't, Puck continued "If it makes something any better, it was my idea. I don't think she would make out with me to purposely hurt you."

Finn nodded.

"It's okay man. I've forgiven her already. Though, it doesn't help that you're reminding me of that."

Puck chuckled and Finn joined him. They didn't laugh together in, like, _ages_! And it felt really good.

"Sorry dude. So why are you like that? Sad and all…" Finn's shoulders slumped "Oh, it's because of the new kid, right? She's still into you, man. Even I can see that!"

He glared at Puck.

"Do you see her here with me? She's happily in love with that Knight in Slushie Armor."

Puck made a face.

"You saw that… Ouch…"

"Yeah… How can I even compete with that? The guy took a slushie for her!" he paused and dug his fingers through his hair "Even _you_ took one for her, last year."

"I didn't put myself on the target, so I didn't take a slushie for her." Retorted Puck.

"It doesn't matter! She was with you and you were the one who took the shot, not her. Alex willingly took it right into his face. And I…" He sighed "I never stood up for her. Never."

"You stood up for her yesterday, at glee club."

Finn sneered.

"Yeah… like one little thing would make a difference. I'm already too late."

"Look," started Puck, trying to give his friend some support "let's pretend that last year I did take the slushie for her. In the end, she still broke up with me and ended up with you. It has to mean something, right?" Finn didn't answer. He never imagined that he could have that conversation with Puck, of all people. "A lot of people think I'm an insensitive prick, and yeah, I kinda am, but I know what you're been through and what you're feeling. When Quinn was with Sam it hurt like a bitch!" Puck laughed, humorless "Why do you think I did all that crap and ended up in juvie? Anyway, if I were you, I would go talk to her."

"Why don't you follow your own advice?" Asked Finn, glancing curiously at Puck.

"I'm way too late, man. I guess she never loved me. At least, not like Rachel loved you. That's the difference." They stayed silent for a couple more minutes and then Puck stood up. "Dude, I really wish I hadn't messed up our friendship, but having Beth with Quinn was the best thing that ever happened to me. Even if we had given her for adoption later. Just… don't ruin what you have with Berry."

The boy turned around and walked away from Finn.

"Puck!" He called and his former friend turned to look at him "Thanks."

Puck gave him a little nod and went away with a proud grin on his face. Finn just kept in the bleachers for a while longer, figuring out what to do next. He had still one step left in his plan, but he didn't think he was ready for that part of the plan. The truth is that what Puck said to him made him think. And maybe he needed to end the plan now, before it was too late.

So, he headed to the locker room, had a shower and dressed clean clothes. Once he was ready, he grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled something there. Quickly, he approached Rachel's locker and shoved the paper inside. She would see it after the weekend and, _fingers crossed_, he would be by her side by then.

_Step 6: Go to her house and tell her how much you love her. And come clean about the secret admirer stuff, too._

When he got to her house, he was nervous. His hands were shaking, his legs refused to move normally and his heart was beating so loud, he couldn't even hear his thoughts. After a while staring solely at her door, he manned-up and pressed her doorbell. She took what looked like _hours_ to answer the door. She was on the phone and seemed surprised to see Finn there.

"I'll call you later, Alex. I have visitors." She waited for an answer and then said goodbye. Afterwards, she turned to Finn, quizzically "What brings you here?"

"I-I wanted to talk." He stammered.

"Okay. Come in." She gave him space to get in the house and gave him a small smile.

They reached the living room and memories of them together flashed through Finn's eyes.

"I…" He started.

"Let me just say something first." She cut him off "I really appreciate you standing up for me yesterday, Finn. Thank you! And I'm sorry that it cost you more Spanish homework."

He smiled at her. He really didn't care about more homework. It totally worth it.

"It could have been worse."

She smiled back and fought the urge to kiss her.

"You're right." They remained silent for a moment "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I don't know where to start." He admitted, sheepishly.

"Maybe from the beginning!" She teased, giggling.

"Funny…" He replied, sarcastically "Well, I forgive you." He blurted out and she eyed him with a slight frown "About Puck, I mean. I forgive you. I realized I was overreacting a bit, so… Maybe you can dump the other dude now and top with that little game so we can be together again." Her frown grew into a scowl and she folded her arms. That came out wrong. _Smooth, Finn, really smooth_, he thought.

"I'm with someone I care deeply about, Finn! I can't just dump him. And it's not the fact that you forgave me that will make me jump into your arms this easily, after all that happened!" She replied, anger growing inside her chest.

"How can you care that much about a guy you barely know?" That wasn't going according to planned, but he couldn't help it. His mouth was speaking without his permission. _Damn his talking without thinking._

"Did you know that I fell in love with you in less time?" She asked, sharply "Why couldn't that happen again, but with other boy?"

"Oh, come on! That's just crap! Are you trying to convince everyone else with that, or just you? When will you realize that you still love me and not him?"

"I don't love him yet, but I'm getting there." Rachel retorted "And who gives you the right to have an opinion about my love life, Finn?"

Her face was contorted with anger. Finn had never seen her like that and he, _sure as hell_, didn't want to see it again in his future.

"I just think that he isn't the right one for you."

"Why? Because he actually talks to me, stands up for me and likes me for who I am? Yeah, there's got to be something really wrong about him…" She replied, sarcastically.

"I like you for who you are." He stated, plainly.

"I'm sure you do. But you always liked you reputation more." He gasped "It's okay, I know it. I always knew that I wasn't good enough for you. You can admit it." She paused, sighing "You know what? Alex doesn't care, at all, about reputation or peer pressure. He actually took a slushie for me today. Could you ever do that, Finn?" He wanted to answer her, but he just stared, agape "It's okay, Finn. That's not a problem anymore. You never loved me half of how much I loved you, but that's okay. I can't blame you. I'm really annoying and demanding. But I know now there's someone that can put up with that and fill your place in my life."

"You actually believe that? Do you actually believe that I didn't love you so much it scared the crap out of me? Do you think I don't love you anymore? Do you think that it doesn't pain me to see you the other guy? Well, you're wrong Rachel!" He shouted.

She hugged herself and stared at him, defiantly.

"Then prove it to me. Prove me that you have ever loved me, Finn!"

Without further thinking, he grabbed her shoulders, pulled her to him and crashed his lips into hers. He, _literally_, saw sparks around them. His heart was beating frantically inside his chest when he pulled back to look at her. She had her eyes closed and he took another chance. He cupped her face, leaned down and kissed her passionately. He buried his fingers into her perfectly curled hair, while her hands rested against his chest. God, he missed her lips so much! How could he have lost her again? _How dumb are you, Hudson?_, he thought.

Then, she pushed him, forcefully and the charm of the moment was gone. She took her hand to her lips and was about to cry, he could see that.

"A kiss proves nothing, Finn…" She said, harshly "You can kiss someone without that meaning anything!"

"Yeah, like you did with Puck, right?" He spat, trying to make a point. However, it turned against him.

"Exactly! It sure took you long enough to finally understand it!" she retorted, angrily.

He avoided the subject.

"Did you feel nothing with this kiss? Didn't you feel the sparks?" He watched her flinch.

"What sparks, Finn? There's not anymore sparks between us. I'm sorry to disappoint you."

"When will you realize that we belong together?"

She shook her head before look into his eyes.

"I used to believe that, but Finn, what have you ever done to prove that to me? Or even to yourself? We broke up and you started to flirt with other girls right away. And you started dating another Cheerio, which just proved my point."

"Didn't you do just the same? Have you ever proven that we belong together? That we're part of something special?"

"Don't you dare to make me take the blame. I tried to have a relationship with you twice…"

"It's more like the opposite."

"Don't you interrupt me, Finn Hudson!" She yelled "I chased after you countless times, I forgave you numerous times, including the Santana debacle. You know what bothers me most in that story, besides the obvious fact that you did it with her? It's the fact that you lied about it. And don't you say I did the same, because I told you weeks before _the slut_ told me about what happened between you two." _Rachel cursed_, Finn thought "You know what hurts the most, Finn? Is that the whole club, no, scratch that, the whole _school_, knew about it and I was the last one to know. You, better than anyone, should understand how it feels. After all, the same thing happened to you last year, with Quinn. Everyone knew, except you. But I was there to hold you, to support you. I was always there for you. And you… you were never there for me. I gave up my Britney style for you and you couldn't even let go of football for me. So don't you dare to say that I was the one who ruined the relationship and did nothing to bring it back." She paused, her eyes shimmering "I'm tired of this, Finn. Please, leave."

He shoved his hands in his pockets and headed to the front door. When he was with a step outside the home, he turned back to look at her.

"I love you Rachel and I don't think that guy will ever love you as much as I do."

She smirked, as a tear rolled down her face.

"I really doubt that."

Then, she slammed the door in his face.

* * *

_I was lying to myself__  
__Now I'm dying in this hell__  
__Girl, I know you're mad__  
__I can't blame you for being mad_

_But baby, here I am__  
__Banging on your front door__  
__My pride's spilled on the floor__  
__My hands and knees are bruised__  
__And now I'm crawling back to you__  
__Begging for a second chance__  
__Are you gonna let me in?__  
__I was running from the truth__  
__And now I'm crawling back to you_

_

* * *

_

_Was it good or bad?_

_Let me know!_

_SLopez_


	7. Please, Don't Stop The Rain

_Hello everyone! :)_

_I'm really sorry for the delay... This chapter was supposed to be posted yesterday, but my life has been crazy (and I've been feeling lazy too... sorry...)_

_Anyway, thanks for those of you who read, review, add to story alert or to favorites! Everytime I check my mail, you make my day! :)_

_There's only one more chapter after this one and I wanted to have it ready before the Super Bowl episode, but I don't think that will be possible..._

_Anyway, onto the chapter!_

_**Disclaimer: **Don't own Glee. It belongs to Mr Ryan Murphy. And the awesome "Please, don't stop the rain" belongs to the awesome James Morrison! :)_

* * *

**Moving On**

**Chapter 7: Please, Don't Stop The Rain**

**

* * *

**

_I thought that time was on our side__  
__I've put in far too many years__  
__To let this pass us by__  
__You see life is a crazy thing__  
__There'll be good time and there'll be bad times__  
__And everything in between__  
__And I don't know which way it's gonna go__  
_

* * *

Rachel woke up with a good vibe that morning. She did her usual routine, had her breakfast and headed to school.

When she got there, she went to her locker and found a piece of paper where it could be read _When you smile, my heart skips a beat_. She beamed, instantly. But who could have shoved that in there? A secret admirer? No. That must have been Alex! He was so sweet and cute and romantic and attentive.

She was so happy that she even joined Finn in her way to class, without noticing it. And he told her she was beautiful. Her heart fluttered in her chest. No matter how she tried, she could never get away from what Finn made her feel. Anyway, it was good that they could talk again without arguing like pre-school infants.

After lunch, she found a yellow daisy inside her backpack along with another note. It couldn't have been Alex. He didn't have lunch at the same time as her. _Unless_, he asked someone to drop it there. That was the only explanation.

So, that afternoon, she put the daisy in her hair and, before glee club, she went to talk to him.

"Hello Alex!" He gave her a sweet kiss on her cheek.

"Hi gorgeous! What's up with the flower?" Alex asked, seemingly really curious.

Rachel stared at him, almost in disbelief. Like she wouldn't figure out, sooner or later, that it had been him doing those sweet things. She pretended she didn't know.

"Oh, this? I found it in my backpack and decided to wear it. Someone must have mistaken the backpack with somebody else's, don't you think?"

Alex shrugged.

"Nah! Maybe you have a secret admirer. That would be nice, because I had to try harder and do awesome and romantic things for you." He said sweetly.

Rachel chuckled. She had to admit that she was a little annoyed. There was no way in hell or heaven she was going to believe that Alex didn't have anything to do with that.

"You're really sweet." She stated "But tell me, how do you feel about love notes?"

"What do you mean? You want me to write you love notes? Or do you want to write me love notes?"

She furrowed her brows, but then smiled at him.

"None."

Rachel pecked his lips and went away. It was time to glee club. On her way, she thought about what Alex said to her. She wasn't buying it. She was pretty sure he was the one leaving her notes and flowers, but if he wanted to keep with the kidding, she would, too.

When she got to the choir room, Mercedes got in her way.

"Hey Baby Barbra! Look, Kurt and I are planning to have a sleepover next week. Wanna join us?"

Mercedes was actually inviting her for something. She always knew that having a friendship with Kurt would have some perks and she was really glad that Mercedes was giving a chance for them to be friends. She beamed at the sassy girl.

"Of course, Mercedes! Thanks for asking!"

"No problem!" The girl smiled back at her "That flower looks really good on your dark hair. Have you been following Kurt's advices?"

"More or less." Rachel let out a chuckle and told the other girl all about the flower and the notes and they spent the whole rehearsal talking about that and, in case the secret admirer theory was true, who that could be.

The love notes appeared in her locker everyday and everyday she thought it was Alex that put them there. One of those days, she found a red rose inside her locker and a note that said _When I hear you singing, my heart beats faster_. That was the sweetest thing Alex had ever written to her. Except… _except_ Alex had never heard her singing. So, it was definitely a secret admirer, but whom? She secretly wished for Finn, but that was silly. They could be tolerating each other, but he couldn't care less about her.

That afternoon, Alex approached her in the hallway. He brushed his lips against hers, softly.

"Hi beautiful! How is your day going?"

"Fine. No slushies until now, which means victory in my world!" They chuckled.

"Look," Alex started "I want to tell you something. I know you think I'm the one sending you the notes, but I'm not. I'm not a genius like that!"

She giggled and smiled softly before answering.

"I know it isn't you." She handed him the latest note she received "You never heard me singing. Sadly."

Alex nodded.

"I wish I had such a great idea to make you fall in love with me!" He joked.

"I'm not in love with this person! I don't even know who that is!" Rachel replied.

"I never said you were. I just wished I had that idea."

Truth to be told, Rachel was not in love with Alex. And she was infatuated with that secret admirer person. But she couldn't hold on to a fantasy. What if the guy was a total jerk in real life (the one aside from the love notes and sweet things and flowers)? What if it was Karofsky? _Oh God!_ She shivered and wrinkled her nose at the thought.

Then, a couple of days later, Finn stood up for her in the choir room. Both to Santana and Mr. Schuester. She was beyond surprised. While they were dating he never stood up for her. Why starting now? Either way, it felt good. Her heart swelled and beat frantically. After all that time, he still had that effect on her. It was impressive.

After that moment in the choir room, the theory that Finn could be the one leaving her the notes was gaining consistence. However, she didn't want to hold her hopes too high.

The next day, she was with Alex, after lunch, when Erica neared her, flanked by Azimio and Karofsky.

"Aim at her," Rachel heard the Cheerio say to the jocks "and make sure she's soaked to the bones!"

The jocks agreed and Azimio grabbed Rachel's left arm.

"Ready for your slushie-facial?" The boy hissed.

Alex came to her defense, pushing the other boy away from her.

"Why don't you just leave her alone?" Azimio and Karofsy laughed in their faces and Rachel saw Erica snickering behind them.

"Oh, look! The freak has another _glee-tard_ to protect her."

"She's not a freak! You're the freaks for thinking that about her." Spat Alex, furiously.

The jocks encircled Alex and Rachel was fearing for him.

"What are you saying? You want to take the slushies instead of her?"

"Bring them on!" Said Alex, defiantly. Rachel wanted to shout "no", but no sounds left her mouth.

Then, it started to rain slushie and Alex was soaked in purple liquid in no time.

"Oh my God! Are you okay?" Rachel muttered and Alex nodded "Let's clean you up."

They headed to the bathroom and Rachel started to help him cleaning the slushie stains of his face.

"Thanks for what you did there, Alex. No one has ever stood up for me like that."

"You don't need to thank me, silly. I'm your boyfriend and I love you. Why wouldn't I stand up for you in every possible way?" He stated, before pecking her lips.

Rachel was left speechless. He said "I love you" but she didn't feel happy about it. She wanted to feel happy about it and say it back. Yet, she didn't. She wished somebody else had said that to her. She wished somebody else had taken the slushie for her.

Later that day, she was making plans with Alex on the phone. Suddenly her doorbell rang and she went to see who it was. It was Finn. The boy that stayed in her mind all day long, even thought she didn't want to.

"What brings you here?" She asked.

"I-I wanted to talk." He stammered.

"Okay. Come in." She gave him space to get in the house and gave him a small smile. After that she led him to the living room and when he was about to start, she thanked him for standing up for her in glee club. Then, he started to say that _he forgave her_ and was ready to get back together.

_Who does he think he is?_, she thought. He was so full of himself, like he knew jack about her love life and she just wanted to smack his head. Hard.

Then, he said he loved her so much that it scared him. She felt that way too, back then (and maybe in that moment, but she wasn't willing to admit that). So, she dared him to prove that he had ever loved her. And he did something she wasn't expecting at all.

He kissed her.

He kissed her like there was no tomorrow. Like his life depended on that kiss. He pulled back slightly (and way too soon, if you ask her), but then, she felt his lips against hers again. And it wasn't less passionate, but was less aggressive. She missed his lips. She missed him. Finn's lips were nothing like Alex's.

Alex.

She pushed Finn away from her forcefully. How could she be doing the exact same thing to Alex that broke her relationship with Finn? And Alex didn't deserve that. He was her shelter. Her heart was well protected around him. She didn't need the danger of loving Finn again, when she was safe under Alex's love.

"A kiss proves nothing, Finn… You can kiss someone without that meaning anything!"

"Yeah, like you did with Puck, right?" Was he trying to turn the game into his favor? _Not going to happen_, she thought.

"Exactly! It sure took you long enough to finally understand it!" She never felt so frustrated and angry at the same time.

"Did you feel nothing with this kiss? Didn't you feel the sparks?"

"What sparks, Finn? There's not anymore sparks between us. I'm sorry to disappoint you." She didn't lie (really, she didn't). She didn't see sparks. Stars were more like her thing. And with the kiss, she saw plenty (not that she was ever going to admit that).

"When will you realize that we belong together?"

She did once. And, maybe she still does. She just didn't want to be broken again.

"I used to believe that, but Finn, what have you ever done to prove that to me? Or even to yourself? We broke up and you started to flirt with other girls right away. And you started dating another Cheerio, which just proved my point."

"Didn't you do just the same? Have you ever proven that we belong together? That we're part of something special?" He spat at her, the most hurtful words, the same words he said moments before breaking up with her.

"Don't you dare to make me take the blame. I tried to have a relationship with you twice…"

"It's more like the opposite." _What? Is he trying to say I'm hard to handle with?_

"Don't you interrupt me, Finn Hudson! I chased after you countless times, I forgave you numerous times, including the Santana debacle. You know what bothers me most in that story, besides the obvious fact that you did it with her? It's the fact that you lied about it. And don't you say I did the same, because I told you weeks before _the slut_ told me about what happened between you two." She cursed. She was so mad that she actually _cursed_. Rachel Berry doesn't curse. "You know what hurts the most, Finn? Is that the whole club, no, scratch that, the whole _school_, knew about it and I was the last one to know. You, better than anyone, should understand how it feels. After all, the same thing happened to you last year, with Quinn. Everyone knew, except you. But I was there to hold you, to support you. I was always there for you. And you… you were never there for me. I gave up my Britney style for you and you couldn't even let go of football for me. So don't you dare to say that I was the one who ruined the relationship and did nothing to bring it back." She could already feel the tears prickling her eyes "I'm tired of this, Finn. Please, leave."

Rachel watched him shove his hands into his pockets and slump his shoulders. When he reached the door, he said the most unbelievable thing that evening.

"I love you Rachel and I don't think that guy will ever love you as much as I do."

"I really doubt that." Was the plain answer she gave him while slamming the door in his face.

She cried to sleep that night.

On Monday, she dissipated all the doubts that Finn was her secret admirer when she found the last note in her locker.

_I'm on my way to your place now. I hope I can make everything right between us and that we can walk through McKinley's halls hand by hand on Monday. There's nothing I wish more.  
I love you, Rachel. Always did and always will._

_Finn_

She felt tears building in her eyes and for a split second she thought she was going to lose it right then and there. But then, she felt Alex's hand on her shoulder and, somehow, she felt a bit better. Until she remembered that she had cheated on him.

A week had passed and she didn't have the courage to tell him about that yet.

One day, they were babysitting the twins at Alex's place and she thought _It's now or never. He deserves to know the truth._

She took a deep breath and started to talk.

* * *

One Monday morning, Alex found Rachel in the verge of tears, near her locker and after that moment she was never the same. She was distant, disconnected from him and seemed to be thinking about something else, all the time.

That same day, after lunch he was talking to some friends, when he saw a tall figure coming his way.

"Hey Alex." The tall boy greeted "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Alex eyed him, suspiciously.

"Sure, Finn! What's wrong?"

They stepped aside from the others.

"I'm in love with your girlfriend." Stated Finn, like it was something normal to say to someone. Alex raised his brows in surprise.

"Plainspoken much?"

"Yeah… sure, whatever that is." Replied Finn "Look, I just want to tell you that Rachel is a big fan of honesty. And man, who isn't, right? The thing is, she will come to you and tell you something that she feels bad about but it wasn't her fault. So, please, don't be a dick like me and forgive her, even if there's nothing to forgive."

Alex felt a pang on his chest. He didn't know what happened, but it wasn't good. He was not sure if he wanted to know it.

"Could you, at least, tell what are you talking about?"

"I kissed her." Stated Finn, straight to the point "I was at her place on Friday, she was on the phone with you, remember? I was the visitor. Anyway, she had nothing to do with that. I kissed her and not the opposite."

Alex nodded. He didn't know what to think. The boy was in love with Rachel, why was he arranging everything so they wouldn't break up?

"Why are you doing this? Most of the guys wouldn't tell me to forgive her after that. They would probably be happy if we broke up."

"I guess I'm not like most of the guys." Finn said, matter-of-factly "You're a cool dude and she seems happy with you. And if she's happy, I have to learn to be happy too. For her. So… I'm doing this for her."

Alex nodded again.

"Thanks, I guess."

"Yeah, don't mention it. You know, if we weren't after the same girl, we would probably be best friends by now." They chuckled "Anyway, don't mention it, really. Especially to Rachel. Don't tell her we had this talk."

"Okay."

"Okay. Bye man."

And he went away.

But the thought he put in his head never left.

A week later, when he was with Rachel babysitting his sisters, he wasn't surprised when she started to talk.

"Alex, I need to tell you something."

The pain in her voice was obvious and he knew the pain was in her eyes too, even if she wasn't looking back at him.

"What's wrong, Rachel?"

She kept her eyes on the floor. It seemed to be way more interesting than facing him.

"The other day, when I told you off on the phone…"

"Yeah, you said you'd call me back and you never did."

"Well, yes, exactly. And I'm sorry I didn't call."

He smiled.

"That's okay. But you've been weird since that day."

"Actually, it's about that what I want to talk to you about." For the first time since they engaged the conversation she looked him in the eyes and immediately looked away, staring at the wall in front of her instead "That night, Finn was at my place."

"Did he hurt you?" He had to make this question. Finn had told him what happened, but he didn't know if he should believe him.

"No." She said, quietly.

"Did you sleep with him?" That was an unnecessary question, but he decided to give it a try anyway. She stared at him, her mouth and eyes wide open.

"No, Alex! And I'm sad that you think that!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." He tried to make up for what he said "Tell me what happened, then."

She darted her eyes to the floor again and she stayed like that for a long moment until he touched her arm.

"Rachel?"

"He kissed me." She blurted out.

So, it was true. Finn wasn't lying to him. He was surprised by that. After all, the other boy had character.

"Okay… it was just a kiss. It's not like it meant something…" He said and she started to shed silent tears.

"Twice." She interrupted him "He kissed me twice."

Okay, he wasn't counting on that. Finn never mentioned two kisses.

"Well, that changes things. You may have been caught by surprise by the first one, but you didn't stop the second one."

He didn't mean to be harsh, but his last words came out more rough than he intended. Her sobs increased, though she was silent. He knew her and he knew she didn't want him to see her vulnerable.

"I'm such a bad person!" She managed to say between sobs and tears.

Instead of pushing her away, Alex wrapped his arms around her tiny frame.

"It's okay, Rachel. You're everything but a bad person."

"You know you're lying. You're lying to yourself. I _am_ mean! I did this thing once and now I did it again. And you don't even deserve it."

Alex held her tightly against his chest, trying to give her some comfort. So, this is what Finn was talking about.

"Come on, Rachel, don't be so hard on yourself. You just told me _he_ was the one who kissed _you_. That doesn't make you a bad person."

"But I kissed back!"

"It doesn't matter! It wasn't your idea and you didn't even plan for that to happen." He paused "You're afraid that I think this was like the thing with Puck, aren't you? Or is it because you still have feelings for Finn?" Rachel's head flew and her eyes met his. There were tears running down her cheeks "It's okay, Rachel. I'm not blind and I always knew you weren't over him."

He watched her looking at her feet and sniffling loudly.

"The thing is I don't want to have feelings for him anymore. It brings me so much pain and suffering. And you bring me comfort and you're safer and you don't go after those evil Cheerios like a puppy…" She sniffled again "I want to be with you, Alex. You're good for me and I can love you. I know I can!"

He smiled, softly.

"But that could take years to happen, _if_ it happened." Alex stated "And I don't want you to be unhappy this whole time and someday in the future to hold it against me. Let's be friends. Deep inside I always knew we were nothing more than that."

More tears fell down from her eyes and he wiped them off with his thumbs, when all he wanted to do was cry like a baby, too. He was about to break up with the only girl he ever understood and that ever understood him. She was the only one who actually made him _feel_ something. However, and just like Finn, he couldn't be happy if she wasn't happy as well. And she wasn't happy unless she was with Finn.

"What are you saying?" She asked, her voice weak.

"I'm breaking up with you, Rachel. For your own good. And you should talk to Finn and work your things out or I'll do it."

"Why are you doing this?"

He should be waiting for a question like this. After all, she was Rachel Berry. The need of knowing everything ran in her blood.

"Because sometimes, when you love someone, it's less painful to let that someone go than to let her stay. And I love you that much, Rachel. You deserve to be happy. You are such a stunning, dazzling, magnificent person that it's really hard to let you go."

She let out a shriek. Something between a sob and a chuckle.

"You know, Finn probably doesn't know the meaning of half of the adjectives you used. He's not romantic like you are. Well, actually I'm lying here. He was my secret admirer." Alex smiled, pleased "Anyway, he's not safe for my heart. He's not eloquent or articulated with words. He's not a lot of things."

"And I am all of those things," he cut her off "but I am not what you need. He is. Sure, he is not perfect, but I'm not either. Nobody is." She sniffled again "Please, Rachel, do me a favor."

"Anything, Alex."

"Talk to him. You'd be surprised. And if it still doesn't work between you two, at least, you tried." This might have been the hardest decision of his life, but he couldn't let her be miserable because of him "Promise me that you'll talk to him."

She looked him in the eyes and nodded slowly.

"I promise."

Alex pulled her for another hug and let her soak his shirt. He knew she wasn't crying for their break up. Maybe a little, yes, but she was mostly crying because she couldn't stop herself from loving the tall boy and she couldn't stop herself from having to face the world without her heart protected.

He could read Rachel Berry like a book. But she was not his book to read.

* * *

_Oh we're a little closer now__  
__In finding what life's all about__  
__Yeah I know you just can't stand it__  
__When things don't go your way__  
__But we've got no control over what happens anyway _

_If it's gonna be a rainy day__  
__There's nothing we can do to make it change__  
__We can pray for sunny weather__  
__But that won't stop the rain__  
__Feeling like you got no place to run__  
__I can be your shelter 'til it's done__  
__We can make this last forever__  
__So please don't stop the rain_

_

* * *

_

_So, did you like Alex's POV? :)_

_And, as for the rest of the chapter, what did you think?_

_Let me know!_

_SLopez_


	8. The Kiss

_Hi there!_

_First of all, thanks to all of you who read, review, add to favorites and/or story alert! I love you guys! :)_

_Secondly, but no less important, I am so sorry for the delay! I have to be hones, first, sloth caught me in its tight arms... then, I suffered from a serious case of lack of inspiration. You can call it writer's block, but I don't consider myself as a writer, so... call it what you want! :) Anyway, consider this my Valentine's gift for you (for some it's delayed and for others it's just in time!)! :) _

_Last but not least, this story is dedicated to **sandra-wfg**, who has been supporting me from the beginning and with whom I have fantistic discussions about Glee and a lot in common, too! This one is for you! ;)_

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Glee. And the song belongs to the amazing band/duo (I actually don't know) Karmina._

* * *

**Moving On**

**Chapter 8: The Kiss**

**

* * *

**

_I know we don't belong__  
__Everyone says it's wrong__  
__We come from different ways__  
__So I tried to erase everything that I felt__  
__That I felt_

_

* * *

_

After the talk Rachel had with Alex, he gave her the rest of the week to make up things with Finn. The week ended that day and she still didn't have the courage to call Finn or talk to him at school.

Alex kept pushing her and in that Friday afternoon he pressed her even more.

"Rachel I was being serious about the 'you talk or I talk' thing. Just grab your damn phone and call him already." He said, jokingly.

"I can't." she admitted, looking sheepishly at the floor "I'm not that strong."

Alex rolled his eyes and scoffed, still in the same joking tone.

"Why are you being such a drama queen now? Just give me your phone." She hid the phone from him "Give it to me or I'll steal it!"

As she continued uncooperative, he fought her and managed to get her phone. He quickly scrolled through her contacts, finding Finn's easily. Then, he pressed call.

"Here, it's calling. Now, just talk or I'll torture you until you do!"

She smiled at her friend and took the phone to her hear. It was ringing. Her heart started to thump loudly and she was sure Alex could hear it. Two rings later and Finn picked up.

"Hello?" His voice answered the phone, seemingly hopeful. Rachel, on the other hand couldn't bring herself to speak "Rachel? Is that you?"

"Yes." She finally managed to murmur the word.

"Is everything okay?" Finn asked, worriedly.

Rachel sighed and clung to her phone. Her fingers were even hurting because of the bedazzled beads that she spent a whole afternoon gluing to the device.

"Yes, everything's fine. I'm just calling to ask you if there's any problem for us to meet for a talk."

"What?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. Of course he wouldn't be listening to a word she said.

"I need to talk to you. Is that okay?" She waited expectantly for his answer.

"Yes!" He answered rushed. "When?"

"As soon as possible." She replied shortly.

"Then, tomorrow night I'll meet you at your place, okay? Will Alex be there as well?"

She hesitated. Alex had been listening the entire conversation, his ear glued to her phone. He furiously shook his head and mouthed the words '_You have to fix that by yourselves_'. She let out a loud breath.

"No. Alex and I are no longer an item. He broke up with me." Rachel turned to look at Alex's face, smugly. _Did you like this little revenge, smartass?_ Alex only shook his head, grinning.

On the other side of the phone, she felt Finn panicking.

"He did? Why? I told him not to tell you anything. Damn."

"Tell me what? What are you talking about?" She was genuinely curious and frowned at Alex.

"Uh… we'll talk tomorrow, okay? My mom's looking for me. Bye Rach."

He hung up and Rachel looked at Alex, frowning.

"What was he talking about?" Alex averted his gazed to a place far away from her face.

"How would I know? I'm not inside his head." She eyed him, suspiciously "I have to go, Rachel. Talk to you tomorrow or maybe Sunday, if things go well tomorrow!" Alex winked at her, while heading to the front door.

"I know you're hiding something from me, Alex! And I will find out!"

Snickering, he got out of her home, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

She was walking in McKinley's hallways, like any other ordinary day, when evil Santana blocked her way. She asked the girl to _please, move away_, but she didn't. Instead, she kept blocking every different move Rachel tried.

"Stay still, midget. I wanna tell you something." Rachel was already used to the other girl's snide remarks, but they kept leaving scars on her heart. And this time, she sounded even more menacing than usual. "Do you really think that Frankenteen will ever get back with you?"

"We're just talking our differences and trying to get past that. I think it might work this time." Rachel said, with false confidence.

"Keep telling that to yourself, dwarf!" Then, the devil laughed at her, unpleasantly "Why would he want you, when he can have me or any other Cheerio?"

Rachel began to feel really frightened, but she couldn't run away, she couldn't move. Suddenly, Satan's face morphed into Finn's. But it wasn't her Finn. It wasn't the sweet, lovable Finn. This Finn had a malicious glint in his eyes that she had never seen.

"Yeah, _Rach_," Her name came out of his mouth like venom "do you actually think that?"

She naively nodded, only to be mocked by him.

"And I thought you were the smart one!"

To her horror, Santana was back and started to make out with Finn, right in front of her.

She woke up in cold sweat. That was the weirdest and scariest dream she had ever had.

Although, she couldn't help but wonder if there was any truth behind that wicked dream. Why would Finn still chose her, when he could have any girl in that God forsaken school? Well, she was not backing out now. She would have the talk with him later and if he didn't want her, she can always turn to Alex. Not for a rebound (she wasn't a heartless bitch, contrary to popular belief) but for his friendship.

The day passed by painfully slowly. Why did she agree with such a late hour to meet with Finn?

At the same time, she was afraid of how the conversation might end. It could end splendid or it could end a disaster that she might never recover from. Because she knew how different she was from Finn and her dream was an indication of that. Everyone thought they were not made for each other, because they were opposites. He was on top of the social ladder and she was beneath the bottom.

In a perfect world that wouldn't matter, but at McKinley that was what mattered the most. And Finn, being so gullible, had a lot of trouble dealing with it. Everyone (the supposed popular ones) kept pushing him into their world, where there couldn't attend losers like her.

Rachel could understand his inner battle. Not because she was popular, but she wanted to be (she still wants, when she's on Broadway and millions of people follow her wherever she goes) and she could put herself in his shoes. What she didn't understand was why reputation was so important. Even Noah didn't care about it as much.

If someone asked her what she wanted the most, Broadway and fame, or Finn and love, she would go for the second without even blinking. That's what she was most afraid of: that he wasn't able to let go of his reputation and fame for her. He had done it before (does Britney week ring any bells?). She was afraid that he couldn't love her as much as she loved him.

_That's not what matters now_, her inner voice told her, _What matters is the present and before you jump ahead of yourself, you have to figure out and pour your heart and doubts out to him._

Exactly. She had to think about the present. She couldn't think about the future. They weren't even together at the moment. And if they get to be a couple, eventually, who knew if they're still together when the school year is over? Or when they graduate? Or at college? Or when she wins her Tony awards? Or when she doesn't win any awards at all? Who knew if they will get married and have cute little Jewish babies, with Finn's height and her talent and, hopefully, his nose?

No one. No one could answer that and Rachel vowed to herself that she couldn't think about it either, or she would scare Finn away… again. And that was everything she didn't want.

Because, she tried. She tried very hard to forget him and stay away from him and, for moments, she thought she was succeeding. She had Alex in her life. But suddenly, Finn was at her front door, his crooked smile plastered on his handsome face and he kissed her. _He_ kissed _her_.

And with the kiss everything changed. Or nothing changed at all. She hadn't decided yet.

There was still a lot to talk about. They still had to figure out what went wrong the first time (or second… or third… she wasn't sure). Well, she knew what went wrong and why they broke up. It was because of her childish ways to deal with unknown situations. But he couldn't go unpunished on the subject, also.

Her doorbell rang, taking her out of her thoughts. She headed to the door and was surprised to find Finn there. He was early on their appointment.

"Hey, Rach." He greeted "I'm sorry I dropped by earlier, but I was doing nothing at home and… I wanted to see you."

She smiled as his ears reddened.

"It's okay, Finn. I'm surprised, but I was also doing nothing, so I guess we can anticipate our dialogue. Come in."

She gave him room to head inside the house and once there he waited for her to lead the way. She surprised him (and herself, to be honest) when she went to her bedroom's direction. It was still full of memories of the two of them and if this talk went to the wrong side, those memories would be tainted forever.

"Have a seat." She invited, sitting on her bed's edge. He did as he was told and sat near her.

They stood there, silently, neither of them knew what to say or where to begin.

"So…" Finn started "What did you want to talk about?"

Rachel sighed. She honestly didn't know where to start. There were so many things to say.

"As you know, Alex broke up with me."

"Why?" Finn interrupted her "It was about me, wasn't it? I'm so sorry… you seemed so happy and I really wanted you to still be happy, with him or with me. He wasn't supposed to tell you."

His face was contorted with pain and she didn't understand why. But more importantly, _how_ did he know it was because of him?

"Finn, I truly don't know what you're talking about. What happened between you and Alex?"

"I told him we kissed." Replied Finn, plainly.

"You did what?" She asked, confused.

"I told him that I kissed you. But I asked him not to tell you. Apparently he did it anyway, because he broke up with you."

Rachel frowned, in confusion.

"Shouldn't he?"

"I don't know, Rach…" He paused, looking into her eyes "I mean, I would love that you were happy with me, but you were so happy with him, I didn't think you had feelings for me anymore. I still don't, if I must be honest."

He seemed so down, so broken, she actually had to fight with all her being not to hug him. And he was so wrong. Her feelings for him were all there. They never left. She should probably take him out of his misery and tell him that. However, when she was about to speak, he spoke first.

"I don't blame you, Rachel. I did a lot of bad stuff to you. We would never break up if it wasn't for me. I should never have slept with Santana. It's just… She said it would make you jealous, that you were already having sex with that St. Jerk. But then, after we did it, it felt wrong. Worst, I felt nothing. And I knew I could never have the chance to share that moment with you. Unless I didn't tell you, or anyone, and pretend it never happened. Also, I didn't want to hurt you."

Rachel was amazed by him. How did he get this good at talking about his feelings?

"And then, she had to mess it up and tell you about it. And, apparently, everybody knew, but I didn't know they knew." He took a deep breath.

"Then, I stepped in and did the worst of hurtful things I could ever do to you." She whispered, softly.

"Yeah! Fuck, Rachel! Why Puck? You knew I would be devastated." He didn't mean to yell or curse at her. She could see it in his eyes. But he also couldn't help it and she couldn't blame him for wanting to know.

"If I had thought about it, I would have known that you'd be devastated. But I didn't do it for you to feel that way. It just… He was there, doing for me what you should have been doing. It just happened." She looked him in the eyes "You have to believe me, I wouldn't go any further than kissing with Noah."

"I know that." He reassured her "And I had a similar talk with Puck about this. He said it was his fault and his idea. Is it true?"

"More or less. He leaned to kiss me, but I didn't stop him, so I guess it's not his fault only." Finn nodded at her explanation.

"Then that Alex dude came along and…" He shook his head in disbelief "I'm such a dumbass, Rach… I had fallen for that once and I fell again when that… _Satan_ came with the truth or dare talk and told me that kissing Erica would make you jealous. I'm so stupid." Rachel tried to stop him "Then I saw you crying and all I wanted to do was run to you and hug you and comfort you. But then you laughed and I wanted to make you feel bad again and mainly jealous, so I started to fake date that Cheerio. But then I realized I only wanted you and you were already with the other dude. You know how slow I can be."

"Finn…" Rachel whispered, trying to stop his rant.

"And all I could think about was you and to get you back and my secret admirer plan was kinda working, but then Alex took a slushie for you and I could never compete with that. And then…"

"Finn!" She called him, more loudly this time. He looked at her "Shut up!"

She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. When her lips brushed against his, she lost the ability to think straight. God, how she missed those lips on hers! They were so different from Alex's, but so much better. There wasn't even a way to compare. With Finn it had so much more feelings, so much more passion and wanting and longing. And the sparks? Oh, good Lord! She was almost blinded by them. Along with the stars, of course.

The kiss was over far too soon, in Rachel's opinion, and they could use some air, giving how breathless they both were.

"Did you feel the sparks now?" He asked, hoarsely, his forehead glued to hers.

She chuckled and nodded.

"You know, you were right about something in that little rant of yours." He looked at her, questioningly "There was no way you could compete with Alex." His face fell for a second "Because before it was even a competition you were already winning."

Finn captured her lips with his and she could feel his smile against her lips. She was smiling too.

"So, where do we go from now?" Finn asked, much to Rachel's surprise (she was always the planner and curious one).

"I don't know. We can have a fresh start and, maybe this time, live in the present instead of the future." He frowned slightly "I mean, I was ahead of myself before. I was making plans for our future and living based on future expectations. And look where it got us: I pushed you away. I won't make the same mistake again."

Finn nodded, pensive.

"Okay, so it's a new start, right? Living in the present and stuff…" She nodded "And no more lies, right?"

Rachel smiled at him, happily.

"No more lies." She agreed "And no more controlling. I won't control you and you won't control me."

"Fine by me." Finn replied, grinning "And what do you say about I stand up for you more often?"

She giggled and threw herself into his arms.

"That would be lovely."

"We're part of something _really_ special, aren't we?"

"Yes, we are." She didn't hesitate this time. Finn noticed that and she noticed it too.

He looked into her deep brown eyes.

"I love you, Rachel."

"I love you, too." She smiled, and standing on her tiptoes, she pecked his lips, softly. "Now, I wanted to try this new duet for Regionals with you. Would you help me?"

She watched as a wide grin spread across his face, while he nodded.

They were having it. Another chance. Another try. But she could feel this one was _the one_. How did they say… third time is a charm, right?

This was it. They just knew it.

* * *

_But then you kissed me and suddenly I don't care anymore__  
__Something in me tells me you're the one I'm looking for__  
__But then you kissed me and suddenly I don't care anymore__  
__Something in me tells me you're the one I'm looking for__  
__From the kiss__  
__From the kiss_

_

* * *

_

_I hope you liked the story as much as I enjoyed writing it! I don't know when I will come back with another story, since my mind seems to be on a vacation and I have no ideas, but I'm sure I'll be back someday! ;)_

_And I'm sorry for the cheesy ending... I couldn't help it! :)_

_Anyway, was it good or bad?_

_Let me know!_

_SLopez_


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